The Travel Report ESCOLA DE ADMINISTRAÇÃO DE EMPRESAS DE SÃO PAULO - FUNDAÇÃO GETULIO VARGAS (EAESP-FGV) Fall 2013 Joel Keränen k90309
Preparing for the exchange Pretty soon after the application procedure of Aalto University the Incoming Exchange Coordinator from FGV-EAESP contacted me via email. They sent regularly all kind of necessary information related to the upcoming exchange semester. In the first mail they told about acceptance letter, student visa, application procedures, registration for courses, information about courses, Portuguese language course, health insurance, internships and welcome week. They also attached a power-point presentation which contained plenty more information about the university and the city of São Paulo. Student Visa All students who are not Brazilian citizens are required to get a student visa, called VITEM IV, to enter, stay and study in Brazil. The Exchange Student Coordinator also pointed out that students without student visa will not be able to enroll in the IT-systems of FGV-EAESP. A Brazilian Student Visa can be applied at the Brazilian Embassy which is located in Kaivopuisto in the following address: Itäinen Puistotie 4 B 1, 00140 Helsinki. The website of the Brazilian Embassy is: http://helsinque.itamaraty.gov.br/en-us/main.xml For the visa application the following documents are required: Passport valid for no less than 6 months; One passport-size photograph; Visa Application Form must be filled at https://scedv.serpro.gov.br; Extract for criminal record. You can order this from Oikeusrekisterikeskus in the following address: PL 157, 13101 Hämeenlinna. This costed me 11 euros and it was sent to my address. Full birth certificate ("Extract from the population register" stating the full names of the applicant s parents on it). Original letter from the Brazilian educational institution (FGV-EAESP) confirming acceptance which they will send directly to Aalto University from where I had to picked it up;
Proof of financial means of support during your stay in Brazil. It is illegal for the holder of a student visa to work in Brazil during your stay so they want to know how you are planning to finance your stay while studying in Brazil. I attached a certificate provided by Kela detailing financial aid granted for my studies: grant, housing supplement and student loan. Also Aalto University provided me a document stating that I would receive a scholarship for my study abroad; Round trip air ticket reservation with passenger s name. Itinerary must show dates and cities of entry and departure in Brazil. If you are planning to travel before/after your studies more than few months you should pay attention on this because it might cause some problems. I would recommend you to ask from the embassy in this case how many months you can have between the arrival and departure dates. I delivered these documents in person to the Brazilian Embassy where an embassy agent revised them to ensure all relevant documents were in place. I also had the consular fee paid in advance (which is 36 ) through internet banking. Processing time for the application is up to ten working days after which I went to pick up my student visa some other documents (like the visa application form) I needed in order to register my visa with the federal police in Brazil, so make sure you take these documents with you. As soon as I got my student visa I also sent a copy of it to the incoming exchange coordinator of FGV-EAESP as they required. Another mandatory document I had to send was a copy of my travel insurance which is mandatory for all the students attending to FGV-EAESP. Host University procedures prior to arrival The incoming exchange coordinator at EAESP-FGV was in touch with me as soon as my exchange place was confirmed. In the fall 2013 this person was Renata Jesus who was very helpful with everything. She sent plenty of information related to the upcoming exchange. Soon after the confirmation I already had to take care of the online application which was done through their online system. For that purpose I also received my personal login information via email. Once doing the system registration you will also need a digital copy of your passport and also a digital picture before starting to fill out the online application. The files must have maximum of 500 Kb each and the format must be: JPG or GIF or PNG. The deadlines were always at very short notice so it s important to follow the provided email regularly.
Course registration The period to register in the disciplines was from June 11th at 00:00 to June 14th at 23:59. The principle is first come, first take, so if you want to make sure that you will get courses you want you should be ready when the registration starts. For some students this caused some problems because the most popular courses got full already after few hours. The schedules and calendars were available on http://eclass.gv.br in advance. For the registration you can use the same login and the password you ve received when you had to complete your online application to FGV-EAESP. If you want to choose courses in Portuguese, you have to take a Portuguese test. The host university will offer that test for free. If you don t pass the test you are not allowed to take any courses in Portuguese. Visa Registration Procedure after the arrival Once you arrive to Brazil, you have to register your Brazilian Student Visa with the federal police within 30 days. The international student office of FGV-EAESP is very helpful and active when it comes to the registration procedure. Once I arrived to Brazil I went to visit them as soon as possible and they booked me an appointment to the federal police station. So I knew exactly when and where to go and I also avoided spending the whole day at the police station because I already had my appointment booked in advance I had to bring the following items with me when going to register my student visa: Original Passport; Copy of Passport (except the white pages), Notarized by Brazilian Authorities. There is an office that notarizes copies of passports at Alameda Santos, 1470 (10 minutes walking from FGV-EAESP); Student Visa Application Form (The one I got from the Brazilian Embassy in Helsinki); 2 Photos (3x4) in a white ground (pictures can be taken at any photo service booths located on Paulista Avenue or near the Polícia Federal); A form called GRU-Guia de Recolhimento, which can be downloaded at http://www.dpf.gov.br. The people at the international student office will do this for you: from them you will also receive two bills you need to pay related to administrative fees;
Registration Form from the Polícia Federal which must be completed; All visa documents received from the Brazilian Embassy in your country Welcome Week The 1 st day of August was reserved for the registration procedures for those who didn t have a change to take care of it in advance. Anyhow, if you arrive to Sao Paulo earlier than this I would recommend you to visit FGV-EAESP and take care of in advance in order to avoid doing it at the same time with most of the people. Also the Portuguese proficiency test took place on August 1 st. On August 2th the university organized a city tour in Sao Paulo which was pretty nice and useful and it s definitely worth of participating. After that there was Dean s welcome speech and student s union presentation at the university. On August 3 rd there was a welcome party at the university including various presentations like capoeira and also drinks and snacks. Studying at FGV-EAESP At FGV-EAESP semesters are scheduled into two modules. The courses were arranged so that none overlapped, and the course registration process took place before the semester started, when I selected all the courses for both modules. In the end of the 1 st module it was possible to make changes (add or remove) courses I had chosen prior my arrival.
In the 1 st module I had two courses (both worth of 6 ECTS points): Doing business in & with BRICS countries The core objective of this course was to introduce students to the legal managerial system governing business in BRIC countries, in an approach legal, cultural and socio-economic oriented and to provide them with the ability to analyze managerial issues related to business in BRIC countries. The course concentrated on that what are the characteristics, opportunities, challenges and risks that are expected in BRIC countries. The professor, Ligia Maura Costa, had sometimes pretty eccentric teaching methods and also the assignments were quite poorly planned. The course itself didn t require that much workload. Evaluation of the course: 30% - Assignments 30% - Group Project 40% - Final Exam Low-income population and social business This course was clearly divided into two parts as the name suggests. The objective of this course was to offer a better understanding about the opportunities and characteristics of low income markets, to explore the strategies adopted by organizations in Brazil and in other emerging countries to operate in a perspective of business with social impact. The course included lectures, readings, discussions, cases, in-class activities, exercises and projects. Compared to other courses it was quite demanding. Every week each group had to write a two pages paper with a critical analysis of the readings. Also the participation in class improved or diminished the individual grade of the written exercises. The professor, Edgard Barki, was quite inspiring and enthusiastic person. Evaluation of the course: 20% - Class Participation & Written Exercises due for every class 50% - Group Project 30% - Final Exam
In the 2 nd module I also had two courses (both worth of 6 ECTS points): Brazilian economy It discusses some long run trends affecting Brazil and introduces structural problems in the context of institutions and economic and political dynamics. Changes in Brazilian social structure as well as issues concerning sustainability, globalization and opportunities and obstacles for in Brazil are addressed. The professor, Antonio Carlos Manfredini da C. Oliveira, was very proficient but usually he wasn t very well prepared for the lectures. Evaluation of the course: 40% - Group Presentation 40% - Group Project 20% - Final Exam Simulation models in finance The objective of this course was to familiarize participants with the use of simulation models for the purposes of conducting financial analyses. In order to attain its objective reviewed the financial concepts involved in different types of analyses, relating them to commonly available Information Technology resources and techniques. It wasn t mentioned anywhere but it was quite critical requirement that students are very well familiar with MS Excel and also at least with basic accounting and financing principles in order to set up and use financial analyses of various sorts. The professor, Marcio Fernandes Gabrielli, was very specialized to the course objectives but sometimes he was struggling quite a bit with some basic stuff like time management. Evaluation of the course: 30% - Cases and Exercises 30% - Group Project 40% - Final Exam
Portuguese Language Course On August 15 th EAESP-FGV organized a Portuguese Placement Test. Based on that test students were divided into various language courses ranging from basic, intermediate, and advanced. If you want to attend the Portuguese Language classes it is mandatory to participate this test. The placement test was separated in two parts: written and oral tests. Anyhow, this placement is not very strict, and you may request to be put to a more advanced class, or easier class depending on your preference. I was placed into the basic course but I did not find this class very helpful. The teacher of the course was very bad and he didn t really have an idea how to teach so already after few weeks I quitted the whole course. The language course isn t worth of ECTS points so it didn t really matter. I strongly recommend you to take a course in Portuguese prior to your departure to Brazil, which was actually also one of the requirements of Aalto University. In Sao Paulo you will get along in English but knowing at least basics of Portuguese will make your life much easier there. The Brazilian embassy organizes courses and also I participated on one basic course there prior to my departure. Also Aalto University organizes Portuguese language courses, but only in the University of Technology. Accommodation I found my apartment in São Paulo from Facebook where are multiple groups for exchange students and apartment seekers in São Paulo. The apartment was located right next to FGV-EAESP (address Avenida Nove de Julho 2000). The rent was 1500 R$ / month, which I was happy to pay given the convenient location (only 2 minutes walk from the university). I shared the apartment with a French guy and we both had sizeable rooms. The apartment also had a shared bathroom, a kitchen and a living room. All the additional costs were included. Generally speaking rents varied between 800 R$ - 2000 R$, depending on that were the apartment is located, what are the facilities and so on. For example in these Facebook groups people were publishing accommodation offers almost in daily basis: FGV Exchange students FALL 2013
São Paulo CEMS + MPGI Fall 2013 I also heard that many people were using this website for apartment seeking: http://www.easyquarto.com.br/ The host university doesn t offer rooms for exchange students, but they are offering their help for those who need. They can for example convey apartment offers and recommend websites. You can also ask what they think about the apartment you are considering to move in or ask them to check your leasing contract. While looking for accommodation I strongly recommend you to focus on districts which are within walking distance from EAESP-FGV. São Paulo is a very large city, and during rush hour (mornings and late afternoon), the city is practically immobile. Safety in São Paulo The first question people always have in their minds about São Paulo is related to safety. São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, with a city population of about 11 million and almost 20 million in its metropolitan region. It s simply too large and diverse to be described by average statistics. Although statistics show that crime has been decreasing in some areas in the 2000s, crime levels in the state of São Paulo remain high. Generally speaking, neighboring area of FGV-EASP, like Av.Paulista is safe because it has large movements during the day and evening; it has police stands at every block during the day, and has a lot of banks with security. Also areas to the west of Av.Paulista such as Jardim Paulista, Pinheiros, Morumbi, Itaim Bibi are all considered safe. Personally I never had problems during my stay in São Paulo but there are some areas visitors should avoid walking at night, or at least avoid walking alone. These include run-down areas, like favelas and areas populated by drug addicts. Also The Historic Center is considered as a dangerous area especially at night. Taking a cab can sometimes also be risky at night time, especially when
you are in an upscale bars/clubbing area, like Vila Madalena or Vila Olímpia. Few exchange students got robbed while being in a cab at night time when the cab stopped at a traffic light. Final comments I would definitely recommend Brazil as a country to visit, explore and study. São Paulo is known as the industrial and financial capital of South America, and EAESP-FGV is probably the best business school of the whole continent. The students from there are in a privileged position in the labor market and it s definitely a right place to study if you are interested in working in Brazil someday. The Brazilian culture is also very special and interesting and Brazilians are extremely friendly, social and optimistic people. Safety situation is an element always to keep in mind but if you are considering doing an exchange in Brazil, I would recommend you not doing the decision based on the safety situation in São Paulo.