Through the respected Brazil Scientific Mobility Program (BSMP), a scholarship program funded by the Brazilian government and administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE), exceptional students are entering spring classes at the ESL Academy. Their areas of study in Brazil are civil engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, architecture, and pharmacy. Bernardo Klimkievicz is the first of nineteen students who are coming to CU Denver. He is especially interested in learning more about hydrology and geotechnical engineering and is eager to be studying abroad in Colorado.

“It is important to understand what is happening all around the world, and one great way to extend your view is by getting out of your comfort zone…where you are going to face new problems,” said Klimkievicz.

The BSMP is part of the Brazilian Government’s larger initiative to grant 100,000 scholarships to top undergraduates for a year of study in the United States. The scholarship seeks to award students primarily in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, all of whom will return to return to Brazil to finish their degrees. In addition to undergraduate exchange students, IIE also oversees Brazilian scholarship students for English as a Second Language (ESL) study and will be sending its first cohort of graduate students to the U.S. in the fall of 2014 for graduate degrees in the fields of Applied Science and Technology and Creative Industries. Additional undergraduate exchange students are anticipated at CU Denver for the fall term, as well as graduate degree-seeking students.

Along with his studies, Klimkievicz is making the most out of being in Denver. His favorite activities include bicycling under blue skies on one of Colorado’s 300 days of sunshine, watching an exciting Denver Nuggets basketball game, and enjoying the cafes and shops along downtown Denver’s 16^th Street Mall. Klimkievicz is interested in the research initiatives taking place within civil engineering and would like to return for a master’s degree at CU Denver’s College of Engineering and Applied Science.

Klimkievicz’s family and friends are very proud of his accomplishments, and he hopes to increase their pride by eventually returning to Brazil to build meaningful projects for his community. He summed up his appreciation for the opportunity to engage in the University of Colorado Denver community.  “Denver is a big city where you can find people from all around the world. CU Denver is right in the middle of the city with its hands open, ready to receive you, with all kinds of opportunities. So you had better start packing!”

By Sara Rathbun & Stephanie Adams

To learn more about International Admissions at the University of Colorado Denver,
visit online at: internationaladmissions.ucdenver.edu.

For information about the ESL Academy, visit: ESL.ucdenver.edu.