“Good students should apply to an American university”

Portuguese students don´t know too much about the Fulbright program. Ricardo Sequeira Spokesman of Fulbright Information Centre, from Lisbon, is working at changing this aspect. He thinks that students should consider this opportunity and not miss it.

Urbi @Orbi - How many portuguese students participanted in the Fulbright program last year?
Ricardo Sequeira - Basically, we have around 10-20 each year. It depends on the year and is difficult to say because we also have teachers from North-American universities coming, we have portuguese teachers going and students too.

U@O - What about the students and teachers from UBI?
R. S. - I don´t have the statistics with me, but I´m sure that UBI had, for several years, a North-American professor here, suported by Fulbright.

U@O - But generally, how many North-Americans come to Portugal throw Fulbright program?
R. S. - Not many, because they can chose the country where they go...It´s around five.

U@O - They run away from Portugal?
R. S. - Oh, no. They like it very much, they find it very peculiar...It´s a change for them, especially when they com from huge cities like New York, Los Angeles...

U@O - Do you have a feed-back from the portuguese students that go in USA? How they adapt there?
R. S. - I think they just love the experience...Those who go for Ph.D spend around five years or more of their lives there...Still, they have to come back for two years, because of the visa.

U@O - But are the portuguese students interested in Fulbright program?
R. S. - I think more and more they are becoming interested...Mainly, the programme is not very well known yet...

U@O - Are they scared by the financial aspect?
R. S. - Usually they are scared. Universities require so much money from their students, but they also give back money to those students that they believe in. Good students should apply to an America university. Probably they won´t pay anything.

U@O - Still, probably the start scares them too: all those papers, getting the financial suport...
R. S. - United States are a different country and have different ways to decide things...So, they require more papers, more documents than we do. It´s their way and you have to adapt to it. Is not so difficult to make all the documents...

U@O - How is the Bologna process affecting the Fulbright Program?
R. S. - We also have to readjust to this new situation. The Fulbright Commission is just an institution that makes the bridge between, in this case, Portugal and United States. The American universities are the ones that determine the criteria. So, they decide if they adjust to Bologna. Is their option if they require or not new criteria. We only do what they request.

U@O - But is it possible that they don´t adapt?
R. S. - Well, it is possible...Some universities still do require four years, for example for the ones that want to apply for a Ph.D. Still, many universities now are considering accepting students with only three year-degree.

U@O - Is a chance that the Fulbright students would be remarked in USA by the American companies?
R. S. - They have to reject any proposal of work there. They have to come back here and accept the proposal from here, but not in the United States...They have to return...