The International Meeting on City, Contemporaneity and Urban Morphology (IMCCUM) will be hosted by the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel), in November. In its 7th edition, the event reiterates the cross-cutting of the different approaches to urbanism.

This edition’s theme is “Women and Urban Places”. Considering the formation of cities and the capitalist, patriarchal and colonialist urban logic, the 7th IMCCUM encourages discussions that go against such norm. Thus, it proposes the visibility of women, both in knowledge formation about urban theories and practices, and in their experiences with the city.

The event is organized by both the Graduate Program in Architecture and Urbanism and the Laboratory of Urbanism of the School of Architecture and Urbanism. The Meeting is held with the support of the Foundation for Research Support of the State of Rio Grande do Sul.

In October 2018, the President of UFPel signed two new cooperation agreements with foreign educational institutions. UFPel new partners are the Bath Spa University, in the UK, and the University of Messina, in Italy.

Both agreements seek to promote the academic mobility of students and faculty members between the participating universities, as well as increase scientific production. In addition to these partnerships, UFPel already has more than 90 agreements with different institutions from more than 20 countries around the world.

Bath Spa University and UFPel have already developed  joint action in September 2018, when four English music students and two professors were appointed by Bath Spa University to spend three weeks in Pelotas, performing culture-related activities focusing specifically on music, with an agenda organized by UFPel International Office.

Picture was taken from: Blog Simplifica Fretes

Last October 22, the second edition of the International Symposium on Music and Criticism took place at UFPel, with the theme “The musical criticism of journalists in Brazil and Argentina.” In addition to paper presentations, Vera Wolkowicz (University of London) will participate via video conference for the opening ceremony. Silvia Glocer (University of Buenos Aires), Monica Vermes (Federal University of Espírito Santo), Andrea Adour (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) and Zélia Chueke (Federal University of Paraná) will also perform at the opening concert. The second concert will be performed by Patrick Menuzzi, who is completing his bachelor’s degree in piano at UFPel.

Half a century after completing their undergraduate program, the graduates of the Eliseu Maciel Agronomy School of UFPel (FAEM) held their graduation ceremony last Thursday (18), prevented from happening at the time due to a controversy involving some homage paid to former Brazilian president Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, the JK. The event brought together about 30 out of the 52 original students.

According to the current director of Faem, Dirceu Agostineto, the 1968 class decided to honor JK because the president had inaugurated the new building of the Agronomy School in Capão do Leão (a neighbor city where the school facilities are located to the present day).

At the time of graduation, JK was in prison and the homage, according to the director, would have displeased the military regime, which would have vetoed the solemnity until the previous evening, though allowing it afterwards.

The internal controversy caused by the fact ended up not allowing the graduation to take place. Back then, the new agronomists received their diplomas without a proper ceremony, as it is usually the case.

In 1968 UFPel had not yet been created. The Agronomy School was part of the Federal Rural University of the South.

Programming

Professors Ory Silveira, the commencement speaker, and José da Costa Sacco were honored at the ceremony, which also had the Golden Clover, an honor awarded by FAEM to classes completing 50 years of graduation anniversary, a visit to the tree of the class and the inauguration of the Graduation Board, with pictures dating back to 1968.

UFPel was one of the institutions supporting the V Congreso de Historia y de la Carne y sus Derivados de Mataderos held last October, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. During the event, UFPel Science and Technology librarian Ubirajara Cruz, whose dissertation thesis dealt with “Frigorífico Anglo Pelotas“, presented the work “Slaughterhouse Anglo – Pelotas: photography, memory and industrial patrimony.” The work was developed under the supervision of Professor Francisca Ferreira Michelon. “In 2014, while still taking my master’s degree, I presented my research project in the Congress. At the time, the work was well received and now, in 2018, I was invited to present the results of my research at the event,” says Ubirajara. The institution is very proud of its student and employee.

Last September, UFPel offered its first Summer School Program to four students and two professors from Bath Spa University, England.  Music and Culture students Alice Brooks, Joshua Decordova, Savannah Rae Squair and Adam Biggs, along with their professors Matthew Spring and Adam Biggs, spent three weeks at UFPel following an intense agenda especially tailored and organized by the International Office

Among the activities proposed, the students attended classes of Portuguese as a foreign language, Pomeranian language and culture, classes about cultural heritage and the history of the city, dance and Brazilianness, as well as a number of workshops in their areas of interest. They also participated of the rehearsal sessions of UFPel’s Woodwind Orchestra, Choro Club and activities related to the institutional extension program on Percussion Instruments. Visits to the historical center, several museums, a local soccer stadium, a guitar festival, a samba school, and Laranjal beach were also very much enjoyed to help the group socialize and interact with the local community and life.

All the activities were performed in English thanks to a supporting team of volunteer students from UFPel, who accompanied the group full time and assisted their communication needs.

Researchers from our School of Architecture and Urbanism (FAUrb) bound to the International Project on Global Aging have recently been to India (city of Tirupati) visiting Sri Venkateswara University.

Professors Adriana Portella, Eduardo Rocha, Celina Britto Correa, researcher Anelize Cardoso (from UFPel) and professor Isolda Gunther (University of Brasília) represented Brazil in this mission. Both UNB and the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) are partners in this project, coordinated by UFPel in Brazil and the Heriot-Watt University in the United Kingdom. The research mission aims to start, in India, the same research that has been carried out in Brazil and the United Kingdom. The target cities in India are Hyderabad, Calcutta and Delhi.

On September 24, the researchers of the project met the rector of the Sri Venkateswara University to enter an international partnership between UFPel School of Architecture, the School of the Built Environment (Heriot-Watt University), and the School of Psychology of the University Sri Venkateswara.

At present, UFPel School of Architecture is one of the main institutions in the study of global aging regarding international partnerships.