Alumni abroad as catalysts for the internationalization of Brazilian ScienceBrazilian graduate programs have trained many researchers who now hold academic positions abroad and often maintain collaborations with their home institutions (McManus et al. 2024a). For example, Morimoto (2024) reports that more than 35,000 Brazilian academics were working abroad in 2023, and McManus et al. (2024b) indicate that a large share of these researchers are based in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Portugal. Many countries recognize their scientific diaspora (i.e., scientists trained in-country but working abroad) as playing a key role in fostering innovation, enhancing international cooperation, and advancing national research agendas when there is sustained engagement of researchers with their home countries (Breschi et al. 2017, Yang & Welch 2010). Adjunct faculty positions allow sustained contribution from alumni to graduate education through supervision, committee service, and teaching, often expanding the department’s interests through innovative courses and research topics. We suggest that Brazilian universities institutionalize affiliations with alumni who now hold positions abroad. Doing so would formalize long-term collaborations and ensure that alumni contributions are recognized and supported by both their current institutions and their alma maters in Brazil.
Such opportunities are valuable for alumni working abroad- not only professionally by enabling sustained collaboration with researchers in Brazil, but also symbolically, as they offer a way to give back to the public institutions that supported their training. This sense of wanting to contribute is often linked to alumni loyalty and continuous engagement (Iskhakova et al. 2017). At the same time, these collaborations provide graduate programs in Brazil with concrete opportunities for internationalization—an important metric in CAPES evaluations, which includes indicators such as publications with international partners, joint supervision, visiting professorships, and participation in international conferences or research networks (Paiva & Brito 2019). Collaborations with alumni abroad address many of these criteria while also contributing to long-lasting research partnerships that extend beyond specific projects.
In particular, PhD and postdoctoral experiences of longer duration (especially those exceeding eight months) are associated with a higher probability of migrating abroad (McManus et al. 2024a), supporting the idea that sustained academic engagement with foreign institutions may promote long-lasting international collaborations. Unlike traditional North-South collaborations, collaborations between alumni and their alma mater are based in long-standing ties, which can favor a more successful collaboration. These ties support the internationalization of Brazilian science on its own terms- by supporting Brazilian institutions to lead globally-relevant research agendas rather than only participating in priorities determined by the Global North, thus reinforcing national scientific sovereignty and increasing global visibility (Dutra et al. 2025, Soares et al. 2023). Moreover, such collaborations can also foster more equitable global science by promoting South–North partnerships rooted in mutual trust and long-term commitment. These dynamics facilitate the mobilization of international funds, personnel exchange, and multilateral collaboration.
We propose that Brazilian graduate programs and funding agencies should formally encourage the participation of alumni abroad as a strategy for internationalization since these ties are already in place. A few programs have already been supporting such ties, such as the CNPq “Conhecimento Brasil”, which promotes international networks with alumni (Soares et al. 2025). This strategy can be further enhanced by supporting graduate programs to formalize ties with their alumni abroad and allowing them to apply for funds when carrying out nationally relevant research. We recognize that institutionalizing adjunct roles for alumni abroad might raise important considerations for in-country researchers, particularly if such roles lead to reduced recognition or access to resources for those based in Brazil. Nonetheless, these opportunities should be clearly designed to complement, rather than compete with, the work of in-country faculty by focusing on co-supervision, collaborative research, and occasional teaching. Greater visibility and institutional support for such affiliations would not only benefit early-career scientists, but also reinforce the long-term impact and global reach of the Brazilian public education system through our scientific output- which still lacks broader recognition globally (Nakamura et al. 2023).
Acknowledgements
We are thankful to the Biodiversity Coordination of Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for encouraging the officialization of early-career researchers in graduate programs. We are also thankful to EduCanada, which funded BES to carry out a visiting period for partnership building at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro through the Faculty Mobility for Partnership Building program.
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