– Paulo Marcos D. Jr.
My name is Paulo Marcos and I was a Science Without Borders student at the University of Victoria (UVic), from July 2013 to August 2014. I want to share my experiences and why this scholarship was so important not for just me, but for other Brazilian students as well that didn’t have the same opportunity as I did. This is the story of how Clubs and Societies Association in Federal University of Parana was created.
When I entered University of Victoria‘s campus for the first time, I was with my host father taking a tour around the city. I was shocked by the green structure and how the buildings were well designed and planned. But at that time I couldn’t expect what was about to happen. A month later, when I had passed the English course, the real university experience would soon start. During the first week I was amazed by the student fair which receives freshmen from all around the globe. A few days later, we were exposed to University Clubs, and that was a breakthrough for me. Students from different areas and courses would gather to study, discuss, and practice what they wanted. UVic has more than 200 clubs! I started to go to the Web Design club meetings and the next term I would join the Japanese Conversation Club to practice my self-taught Japanese. I met new friends and developed the language faster than I would have imagined, and had fun with students from Japan and Canada who loved the Asian culture as much as I did.
Time passed and after many other brilliant experiences in Canada, I came back to Brazil. Federal University of Parana (UFPR), as well as the majority of universities in South American countries, don’t offer clubs. Who was I supposed to practice Japanese with, or any other similar activity? There was nothing like this in UFPR. I had to create my own Japanese Conversation Club. I talked with a friend of mine Cristian, who had the same experience in Monash University in Australia with the Debaters Club. We decided that something had to be done in Brazil to create a more open and diversified space where everyone could learn and teach as they wish.
We created the Associação de Clubes UFPR (Clubs and Societies Association) in the beginning of April 2015. Despite the fact that this idea was uncommon in our university, we had plenty of success! At the time I started writing this blog, we had 25 clubs with more than 600 people involved, not just students from our university, but from the community as well. Volunteering, languages, entrepreneurship, game development, brewery, sustainability, and many other areas and ideas have been developed by the clubs so far. Students are eager to make new connections, teach what they know, and learn from others. They just needed an opportunity to do so.
As a founder of the Clubs and Societies, I could say that our efforts into developing our university are not in vain, but precious to the entire community as well. There are still many obstacles and challenges to surpass, however the main idea that the University is made by students for students is still alive. Cristian and I know that this initiative can serve as a motivation and example to other students around Brazil.
I will be eternally grateful to the Brazilian Government, Student Center, UVic, and everyone else responsible for giving me this opportunity, and UFPR for accepting our initiative with an open mind.
Here is a video that made the news in Brazil all about student clubs!