Brasília, 2009.09.16

Learn how to learn, learn how to undertake. These are some of the  methodological paradigms of the Higher Education which must be highlighted during the formation of new professionals and also be part of the discussions about the curricular structures of Latin America and of acknowledgement of diplomas, according to the president of the Federal Council of Engineering, Architecture and Agronomy (Confea), Marcos Túlio de Melo.

In this interview, Marcos Túlio also shows the current process of acknowledgement of diplomas in Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Australia and Austria and speaks about facing xenophobia in the international market. The Engineer highlights the role of the Professional Councils in the acknowledgement process, renewal of knowledge and permission of new courses, and warns about the methodology of distance education courses in the country. 

Education in the 21st Century - As economic blocks were formed, the traffic of professionals between countries has intensified. This scenario has encouraged xenophobia and protectionism in the labor market. What is the position of this Council concerning the current process of diploma acknowledgment of Brazilian professionals abroad?

Marcos Túlio – This topic is still embryonic in the Confea/ Crea System. We have just had the 3rd World Engineers’ Convention (WEC 2008), last December, and we had the necessity of deepening the discussion of access to the labor market of professionals of to this Council. 
This study has recently begun, but we can point out that the diploma can be acknowledged in other countries, and vice-versa, and its validation must be arranged, because the educational system is different in each country, with various compulsory subjects and different study loads.

The process of acknowledging diplomas abroad, most of the times, does not follow trends or globalization needs. Xenophobia makes the international affairs difficult, but each “State” is sovereign and, as long as there is no agreement between blocks or countries, autonomy prevails.  

In the case of the Brazilian professionals, they are in disadvantage when you analyze the engineering case, whether it is to study or to work. When revalidating the dipoma, there is the registration Grant for the profession exercise in the Professional Council. 
In Spain, the homologation of titles, diplomas or foreign studies presume the declaration of equivalence for academic purposes.

In the United Kingdom, unlike most countries, the one who authenticates the diploma is the university where the student intends to enter. In the post-graduation situation, for example, the Brazilian must fill in a registration form, with some documents attached. It is also necessary that the school where the Brazilian studied is accredited. For that, the British university asks for the British Council’s support in Brazil. 

As in the United Kingdom, in France the diploma acknowledgement is done by a teaching institution. The decisions are made by the president or the director of the institution where the student intends to enter. To enroll in the first university cycle, the student must go through a pre-admissions test, in which it is included a language proficiency test.

Australia has an agency which supports institutions to acknowledge foreign diplomas. It is Noosr (National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition), which, since 1989, acknowledges the qualifications of foreigners who intend to work or study in Australia. The validation can be done in Brazil if the purpose is to study abroad. In order to work, you must know if there is any Australian institution which registers the professions of your field. Doctors, dentists, architects and even teachers have institutions which regulate the profession and, in order to work in that country, it is necessary to be registered in one of these institutions. The registration must be done there, and it is obtained through tests and curriculum analysis. Further information about validation of diplomas in Australia can be found at Noosr’s website (www.dest.gov.au/noosr).

For the validation process in Austria, it is necessary: 1. to authenticate the diploma and the school transcript, with signatures of the people in charge (directors, for example), recognized by a public notary. 2. The Brazilian Ministry of Education, MEC, has to revalidate the diploma. 3. The diploma goes to the Brazilian Ministry of International Affairs, in Brasilia - Legalization Department/ Itamaraty Palace 4. The document must be translated by an official translator. 5. The document has to be taken to the Consulate and a fee of 30 Euros be paid. 

For the Mercosur countries (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay), bureaucracy is little. Since 1999, according to the “Protocol of Educational Integration for Post-Graduation Studies in the Universities of Mercosur Countries”, the acknowledgment of diplomas is automatic. In this situation, as long as they are obtained in 4 year-length courses (2700 hours), at least, and with the purpose of post-graduation courses admittance. For working reasons, professions covered by Confea/ Crea System have the Commission of Integration of Surveying, Agronomy, Architecture, Geology and Engineering for Mercosur, Ciam, which is harmonizing the rules for the temporary professional exercise, recognized by the Group of Services of  the South Cone.

Education in the 21st Century – The criteria for evaluation in the diplomas revalidation are crucial for the proficiency in the process. Are Professional Councils being listened, when defining these criteria?  What are the risks in choosing only the academic parameters?

Marcos Túlio – There is a partnership between Confea and the Secretary of Higher Education of the Brazilian Ministry of Education (SESu/MEC) to discuss the acknowledgement process, the renewal of knowledge and the authorization for new courses. In the case of revalidation of diplomas of foreigners who act in the country, according to the Law of Guidelines and Bases (LDB), MEC is in charge of assigning this to the federal and private universities.  When arriving in Brazil, the professional who is graduated abroad starts the process for the diploma revalidation in a specific university, which analyses the requirements (such as study load, subjects) and, if necessary, asks for studies complementation. The criteria analysed are, indirectly, the ones in which there was technical contribution of the professional system for the courses formulation. After that, in the Confea/ Crea System, the professional sends the documents to the Regional Council, where the request goes through a technical analysis in the specific Specialized Chamber of its formation.  The request still has two analyses in the Federal Council, one of them in the Education and Professional Assignments Commission. It is a simple procedure and there are few situations in which the Professional registration is not homologated. Currently, according to the Confea/ Crea System of Information, there are about 900 professionals graduated abroad registered in Brazil.  

Education in the 21st Century - Distance education is redefining the boundaries of education and market. How does this Council see the methodology intensification for the new professionals formation?

Marcos Túlio – This is a topic that generates several controversies and should be discussed by professionals again.  It is a world trend and the technological area demands a lot in continued education, with specialization and post-graduation courses.  However, the methodology which must be applied is still unknown. Distance education is fixed in our legislation, and if used correctly, it reaches higher demanding levels than in an attendance course. A few years ago, only people from the big urban centers had access to education. This scenery has changed. We have enough technology to interact with students, have discussion forums and have an effective control of quality. There are good and bad teaching institutions which offer distance education courses. What we really need is to broaden and to improve our teaching quality and offer opportunities

Education in the 21st Century – What is your opinion about harmonizing the curriculum structures in Latin America? Can cyclical aspects and specificities of the local market be underestimated in this harmonizing process? 

Marcos Túlio – The harmonizing of curriculum structures tends to simplify the access to all the countries in a flexible model. However, in order to do that, pedagogical methods in the Higher Education have to be introduced, so that professionals can graduate and benefit for “learning how to learn and to undertake”, for being able to create their own jobs, for having their own production unit, contributing to reduce unemployment. 

The definition of the academic profile must visualize changes in the productive process aiming to reach the demands of the new phases of the capital. Therefore, cyclical aspects and specificities must be overcome. 

In the model for Latin America, the researching spirit should be promoted, giving the student the necessary tools to the systematic research, which implies current reviewing methods and emphasing on the knowledge production (and not on the knowledge transmission).
The higher education has to make the development politics effective in all the educational system, cooperating for the formation of a solid basis of learning so that students can have values, abilities and skills and capacities to acquire, develop and transfer knowledge for society.
Then, it will be easier to reach harmonization of curriculum structures, where students can have in their hands tools to learn how to learn, to know, to live with.

Education in the 21st Century - In the Brazilian Congress, there is discussion about professional deregulation.  What are the risks and/ or opportunities this concept brings to the labor market and to the professional verification? 

Marcos Túlio – The verification done by Councils as the Confea/ Crea System is a synonym of security for citizens, because professionals of every field must have competence to exercise their activities. Professional deregulation can have an impact in the labor market. It is the professional regulations which allow the best supervision of the professional exercise, protecting good professionals and society.    

The Federal Constitution, art 5th, establishes freedom for choosing the profession, as long as required qualifications are observed. The legislator, therefore, gave the power to the legislation to establish these qualifications and it is up to the professional councils and orders to verify the professional exercise according to the law, in order to protect society. An eventual deregulation would mostly affect society.

 Interview published on the Education in the 21st  Century website