We had the opportunity to spend a research stay at Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR) in Curitiba, Brazil, as part of the AWARE project. There we had contact to Brazilian professors and students with whom we could work closely in the research area of vehicle safety. UFPR campus is divided into two locations. A representative building complex directly in the old city center and a very large park-like campus in a suburb of Curitiba. Both locations could be easily reached by bus. During our stay in Curitiba, we lived in furnished apartments directly in the city center. These were located in residential complexes that had all the necessary facilities for daily life.
Besides our research activities at UFPR, we had the opportunity to give lectures on road safety at Brazilian schools as part of the national road safety week of the Brazilian Ministry of Transport.
These experiences enabled us to advance our research and doctoral theses and strengthen the intercultural exchange between Germany and Brazil. Personally, we learned a lot about Brazilian culture and life on the South American continent. Especially the close contact to local students and professors contributed greatly to the language development. This enabled us to improve our Portuguese language skills and we also had the opportunity to use our English in professional discussions.
During our stay we experienced Brazil as a huge and wonderful country with very warm people. In conclusion, this research stay was a unique and valuable experience for us.