Course Description
Graduate students in this course will work in coopeertion with faculty and staff of The University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin), the Graduate Engineering School of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (U-Rio de Janeiro), staff of the City of Marica, Brazil, the CODEMAR organization, and representatives of other Brazilian national, state and local government units, for-profit firms, and nongovernmental organizations to encourage the creation of employment and income producing activities in Marica, a city close Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The class will produce a report and documentary video related to enhancing opportunities and economic development for Marica residents and businesses. The course will consider entrepreneurship opportunities in a set of fields of interest to Marica, including: oil and gas technologies; renewable energy production; aviation/aerospace industries; multi-model transport and logistics, and water/eastewater services.
Project participants will be able to travel between Brazil and Texas to accomplish elements of the deliverables, if such travel is allowed by UT-Austin. There are planned and funded summer internships in Marica, Brazil by persons who are prepared and qualified for fieldwork.
This 2020-2021 course is intended as the first year of a multi-year Brazil-Texas joint cooperation project between the parties listed above. In later phases of this project, if Marica wishes to expand the scope of class members’ entrepreneurship investigations, project staff may consider entrepreneurship opportunities in health and life science, information and communication technologies,m as well as tourism and hospitality, with a focus on marine eco-tourism.
This course can be taken either as one or two semester graduate course for 3 credits in any graduate school at UT-Austin. If a student takes both semester courses, these courses would satisfay the six-credit, graduate Policy Research Project requirement at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Travel is not a requirement for the course, as it is hard to know what international travel will be allowed during the 2020-2021 academic year. Field study in Marica, Brazil will be an option if permitted by UT-Austin during the 2020-2021 academic year. If a student wishes to travel to Brazil, she/he will be expected to comply with all UT travel authorization forms and requirements.
This course combines in-class education with possible on-site field experience to provide an opportunity for graduate students to develop awareness of challenges faced in regional development in a small Brazilian city. This course asks students to develop technical and social solutions that address cultural attributes of a community. This course will encourage cooperation among graduate students and faculty with multidisciplinary academic backgrounds within UT-Austin, including Latin American Studies (with an emphasis on Portuguese labguage capavilities), business, engineering, earth sciences, urban planning, and public policy. Project deliverables will provide guidance to the appropriate Marica and other Brazilian government agencies. The final report and video are intended to contribute to development of Marica and improve lives of its citizens.
During the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters, the Austin class will meet from 6 to 9 pm each Monday in Austin in a classroom in SRH 3.350 in the LBJ School.