A common purpose: to lower the barriers that prevent Brazilian students from achieving quality education. Together with BRASA (the largest association of Brazilian students abroad) the Michaelis Foundation will provide the possibility for students to participate in scholarship opportunities for international institutions.

The cost of a flight ticket, the tuition fee and the price and area for accommodation. These are just some of the factors that those looking for a teaching opportunity outside the country need to take into consideration. Despite winning significant scholarships for large universities, young people are often unable to continue enrollment due to lack of financial resources, giving up the dream of studying abroad.

With more than 9000 members, in two years BRASA has aided 12 students, who had the chance, regardless of their family income, to pursue their academic life in colleges in the United States and Europe - subsequently starting a professional career in these countries. Through the Global Thinking Initiative, the expectation is that the project will receive more than 1000 entries, inspiring more young Brazilians to seek new bilingual learning paths.

Always focusing on the philosophy of “looking out for one another” - the basis of the global thinking mentality developed jointly by the two organizations through the initiative - students will be able, in addition to signing up for the BRASA program, to help other university students who also aspire to study abroad. The contribution to BRASA´s SCHOLARSHIPS will be made through the donation of any amount of money.
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“The first step in changing the world is to learn to deconstruct limits, not dreams. After all, in order to transform our reality, we must first dream. ”- Jefferson Michaelis, director of the Michaelis Foundation for Global Education

To subscribe to BRASA´s scholarship program please visit: https://www.bolsas.gobrasa.org/. BRASA´s scholarships can be a resource for students going to study abroad (who have already been accepted to at least one university) or who are already studying abroad (and who graduate after December 2021). Note: only Brazilians can apply to such program.

The Global Thinking project is also supported by Editora Melhoramentos.

- Luma Keily
MFGE International Correspondent (http://www.michaelisfoundation.org/)

What will be of our world after the pandemic? This million-dollar question has been keeping many people awake at night, wondering if the world as we know it will remain the same or drastically change after “we take our masks off”. The answer is a simple one: the secret lies in the hands of our leaders to be.

Recently in Tampa (Florida), more than 160 CEOs reunited in the Gorrie Elementary school, ready to greet students and follow them on their daily classes’ routine. Why? During an interview with ABC Action News (WFTS Tampa Bay), the CEO of the marketing company Elevate Inc, AaKash Patel, explained us the reason: “These are the kids that are going to run our community someday so we have to educate them as much as we can and connect them to our business leaders”.

It´s with that same mindset that the Michaelis Foundation have been dedicating a significant number of projects for young people during the years. With the goal to contribute with the education of this generation of big dreams, the organization partners with many others to bring hands-on activities to schools from all around the globe. “We are truly inspired by our youth. We got to have faith in their projects and dreams, walking side by side to both teach and learn with them, as they lead us to beautiful things”, stated Jefferson Michaelis, director of the MFGE.

In cooperation with Editora Melhoramentos, a Brazilian publishing company, the Foundation seeks to encourage our leaders of tomorrow to be creative and wonder free, through the Global Thinking Initiative. “The initiative provides bilingual activities and the distribution of Michaelis educational dictionaries to schools, communities, and partner entities. In Brazil alone, the cities of Aracatuba, Campinas, Limeira, Ribeirao Preto, São Jose dos Campos, Campo Belo  (MG) and Rio de Janeiro will be positively impacted”, told the project coordinator, Carla Michaelis.

To learn more about the Michaelis Foundation and its activities, including the partnership with Editora Melhoramentos, please go to: http://www.michaelisfoundation.org/
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- Luma Keily
MFGE International Correspondent

Biologist with an extension in astrophysics, journalist, and writer. Rodson Morais, professor and one of the administrators the Orion Astronomy Center in Brazil, has been in love with the world of science ever since he was 16 years old. "When I was a teenager, the vast majority of my friends wanted to have a band while I wanted to have a laboratory," he said.

At 43 years of age, Rodson remembers his trajectory, from academic to professional life, and discusses the importance that English had in his career. "A Michaelis dictionary was one of the books that could not be missing on any of our trips," said the pedagogue, who added that, at a time when there was no internet in Brazil, the dictionary was a major helper for research work. “English opened several doors for me and made it possible for me to do a much wider range of jobs,” he affirmed.

Through its activities, the Michaelis Foundation seeks to be part of the story of people like Rodson who, with determination and focus, go after their dreams. “It is testimonies like this (Rodson´s) that make us sure that we are following the right path. We always have in mind the purpose of, through bilingual education, opening new horizons and reducing the frontiers for knowledge”, revealed the founder of the Michaelis Foundation, Jefferson Michaelis. Motivated, Rodson's future goal is “to take a good course to recycle my knowledge of the language and reach proficiency in English”.

To further encourage bilingual learning, in 2021 the Michaelis Foundation, with support from Editora Melhoramentos, started the Global Thinking project. The initiative provides bilingual activities and the distribution of Michaelis educational dictionaries to schools, communities, and partner entities. In Brazil, in collaboration with regional partners such as the ORION Astronomy club of Minas Gerais (@orionclubedeastronomia), activities are planned in 10 Brazilian cities.

If your story is similar to Rodson´s, share it with us: http://www.MichaelisFoundation.org/contact
 
- Luma Keily

An educational methodology that seeks to inspire young people into “getting their hands dirty”. Through the Maker Movement, creativity is stimulated for the development of entertaining projects in schools. While having fun letting their imaginations flow, students learn to deal with problems and challenges that may arise during the process of elaborating an idea.

Imagine, design, build, make mistakes and learn. The five pillars of the Maker Movement establish the step by step that students must follow to outline their ideas and turn them into actions. The first pillar represents the act of dreaming, the beginning of the preparation of a project. The second marks the transformation of that dream into a plan, an outline on paper. The third, reflects the change of the outline to something concrete. The fourth pillar, followed by the fifth and last pillar, makes a statement that no positive result is easily achieved, being necessary to learn from the mistakes made to obtain the expected success.

Always focused on quality education, the Michaelis Foundation seeks, through its activities, to bring the Maker culture to more schools. "There is a phrase that says: 'not knowing it was impossible, it went there and did it'. It is this philosophy that we want to pass on to our young people, this certainty that, with willpower and dedication, they can conquer the world. There are no barriers that they can´t break”, said Jefferson Michaelis, founder of the Michaelis Foundation.

It was in this chain of thought that, in partnership with Editora Melhoramentos, the Michaelis foundation started a new project: The Global Thinking initiative. In honor of the anniversary of the developer of the Michaelis dictionary, Carolina Michaelis, 170 school dictionaries will be donated to promote bilingual education in the lives of students from different schools around the world. In Brazil alone, 10 cities will be positively impacted.

“We want to increasingly impact the world with our projects, always working to ensure advances in education to guarantee a promising future for new generations” - Carla Michaelis (Coordinator of the Global Thinking project)

- Luma Keily
MFGE International Correspondent

​With 211.8 million inhabitants, Brazil is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. However, when assessed against the English proficiency of its population, the country does not come first.

Despite being a universal language, few Brazilians have direct contact with English. A survey conducted by the British Council in 2019 showed that only 5% of Brazilians know how to communicate in English and, of these, only 1% can be considered fluent in the language. The reality is that the country, in a ranking of 70 countries, is in 41st place.

In the labor market, this deficiency in a second language becomes a major obstacle. According to a study by the Brazilian website “Vagas.com”, to try to fit the basic qualifications of companies with a name in the market, 51% of candidates looking for a new job opportunity claim to be proficient in English. However, after testing, only 36% can be considered advanced or fluent in the language.

The lack of a hybrid program, where speech and writing can be practiced through playful activities and developed through direct contact with natives, is the biggest obstacle for Brazilians. Thus, in an attempt to change the enunciated framework and provide greater chances for a quality bilingual education, the Michaelis Foundation seeks to promote the contact of Brazilians with the English language from an early age through young learners.

Projects run by the organization, such as Science Days - a kind of itinerary science fair aimed at the space universe - seek to bring Brazilians closer to the language particularities in a simple and efficient way. “Acting as a bridge for easier access to bilingual education, we intend to transform the lives of countless Brazilians, opening doors to new horizons”, said the project coordinator Carla Michaelis.

In 2021, the Michaelis Foundation, alongside Editora Melhoramentos, a Brazilian publishing company, starts the Global Thinking project. The initiative celebrates the 170 years anniversary of Carolina Michaelis, a German philosopher, novelist and lexicographer who dedicated her life to working on projects such as the Michaelis dictionary.

The initiative includes visiting schools and communities, distributing 170 Michaelis school dictionaries and provide hands on bilingual activities. In Brazil, in collaboration with regional partners, activities are planned in 10 Brazilian cities.

Together and with the necessary efforts to make the “impossible” possible to improve global education.
​- Jefferson Michaelis (MFGE director)

Luma Keily
Corresponds International to MFGE

​After the success of the pilot edition in 2020, ESA Academy is looking for 30 highly motivated engineering Master and PhD students with a foundation knowledge of Space Systems Engineering to attend the second edition of the Clean Space Training Course, to be held online over 5 full days between 3 and 7 May 2021.

This is an outstanding opportunity for students to complement their engineering studies with insight into a vital aspect of future space missions, providing a springboard to become the next generation of leading space engineers.

The space industry has been key in taking environmental research forward by allowing different perspectives on our fragile planet. This has helped to push the environmental crisis to the forefront of public and political awareness. However, more needs to be done to ensure that space missions themselves have lower impacts on the environment, both on Earth and in space.

​ESA’s Clean Space initiative was set up in 2012 to gain a better understanding of the environmental effects of the entire life cycle of space missions and to investigate more sustainable alternatives. Clean Space’s activities fall into three main areas: Click here to read more

Source: ESA / Education / ESA Academy

A girl of big dreams. At the age of 13, Mariana Moreira Akamine is already venturing into the vast world of science. "I participated in some Science Days and it is one of the best sensations, because I can teach and share about something I like, being able to add more and more to the lives of young people, inspiring them to dedicate to their studies and to follow their dreams", said the young woman, who won a gold medal at the Brazilian Astronomy Olympics and took a big step towards the realization of her own dream: studying mechatronics engineering.

The interest in astronomy arose at the age of six, when the young woman dreamed of traveling to other planets and galaxies to explore the universe and discover extraterrestrial lives. "One of the phrases that I take into my life is: 'Somewhere, something is waiting to be discovered'. This phrase is from Astronomer Carl Sagan”, she said. Motivated by her passion, Mariana did not hesitate to sign up for the OBA, being classified as gold medalist. The girl pointed out that "participating in OBA means that there are no major challenges that cannot be faced".

Dedication and commitment. The student set aside a few hours of her day to learn even more about this area that fascinates her, doing everything she could to achieve her goals. The achievement, however, was only the first step: Mariana still sees for her future “working in a large space company, creating innovative projects and performing maintenance on satellites and rovers”. Mariana affirmed that "you have to go through all the steps so that at the end, when you see the results, you say: 'Another challenge is done and now it is time to prepare for the next ones that are yet to come'".

“We are proud to be part of the development of this new generation of big dreams. We believe that these young people are the key to starting a better world.” – Jefferson Michaelis

- Luma Keily
International Correspondent

​An inclusive, innovative and inspiring event. Through the Science Days Challenge, children and teenagers in love with science are able to have the unique opportunity to connect with the vast universe of space exploration through playful and motivating activities. “Having the opportunity to participate in an event like SDC is very exciting and makes everyone very thrilled. I never imagined that a project of mine would have such visibility”, said Feleepe de Brito, one of the members of the Carbon Dioxiders team.
 
For student Leonardo Vaz Ferreira, participating in the friendly competition provided by Science Days was enriching. The young man expressed that he was able to learn how to deal with frustrations and maintain his determination despite the difficulties. “By participating in Science Days I learned many things that I can take into my life, such as not giving up so easily and knowing that most of the time projects go wrong, but we have to learn from these mistakes”, he shared. The young man also pointed out that the experience helped them emotionally and mentally.
 
The “Breathing Out” project was born through a physical exercise that the students of the Colégio Cristão Jundiaí institution had to perform. “When my friends and I finished this task, we got the strange feeling of wanting more,” said Amanda Rabello Anarelli. The group competed with the experiment “The air that keeps you alive, can it also kill you?”, Winning the Double Award in the Best Use of Science and Best Science Concept category. “We may not yet have the power to change globally, but, as our biology professor says, it is our way of acting locally while thinking globally. So, I think we are doing what we can to transform our world into a better place”, added the student.
 
“Science Days is building on four years of success. We are going to grow internationally to achieve our worldwide mission” – Jefferson Michaelis, Science Days Challenge global outreach 
 
- Luma Keily
International Correspondent

​The female presence in the Science Days Challenge

In the Science Days Challenge, girls also stand out. Third place in the elementary school 2 category for the best science concept, the students from the schools Padre Anchieta, Manuela Melo, Laís Câmara, Nathália Campos and Thaís Storani, developed the Sustainable Shelter at the Bus Stop of Jundiai Shopping project.

The project was evaluated by many experts, one of them is the consultant, researcher, teacher at the Estácio de Sá institution at the state of Santa Catarina in Brazil, speaker and pilot of airplanes, Simone Keller Fütcher. "I see that it is super important for us to plant the dream in young people," said the judge, who is also actively working on other initiatives that seek to reach girls' interest in science – by promoting dynamic activities and scholarships for female students.
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Mentored by Professor Suely Zani, the team said that the experience of participating in Science Days was unlike anything they had done before. "We learned to always have our minds thinking about innovative ideas and how to help others with a simple act", said Laís. The group also added that they believe that each participant seeks to impact not only their local community, but the world. “It was great to know that our project is part of such a nice initiative”, said Thaís.
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By working together, we intend to continue to inspire excitement and enthusiasm within the world’s youth about STEAM and how accomplishments in these fields have – and will continue to – revolutionize the way we live, concluded Carla Michaelis, KSCIA's Project Manager.
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To learn more about Science Days, please visit ScienceDays.org

- Luma Keily
International Correspondent