Internationalization of higher education in Brazil: advances, obstacles, and challenges

In recent years, in Brazil, the theme of the internationalization of universities has become part of the agenda of academic leaders, main funding agencies and representative entities of public and private HEIs. This article aims to analyze the experience of HEIs and funding agencies in Brazil regarding the issue of internationalization. Starting from the process of traditional international academic cooperation, we seek to observe advances of Brazilian universities towards the definition of broader and more complex institutional strategies and objectives regarding internationalization. Drawing on concepts of the internationalization process, we briefly depict the main features of the Brazilian higher education and postgraduate system, analyzing cooperation and international influences within it. Then, we discuss the internationalization policies implemented by central government agencies and the involvement of HEIs in institutional internationalization actions. It is observed that the internationalization of Brazilian higher education system is still incipient and that HEIs are scarcely proactive in the development of institutional policies to receive and in leveraging the opportunities offered in the process.