Dear partners, friends across the globe,

As we reach the end of another challenging year, still deeply marked by the pandemic and all that comes with it – social isolation, travel restrictions, not to mention the burden of the lives lost to this terrible disease – I can’t help but feel taken by a strong sense of optimism and hope. I truly believe that 2022 will be the year when things go back to normal. Not the “new normal,” empty expression that has been used to exhaustion, but a normal “with a twist.” We’ve learned a lot over the past two years; we definitely incorporated new habits and technologies into our daily lives, but hey, isn’t that “normal” anyway, as time goes by? I like the idea of going back to the good old normal (with a twist, remember); it’s a comforting feeling that I believe we deeply need.

Here at PUCPR, classrooms and labs have changed, and this is great, but nothing feels better than seeing our community back to the campus, simply walking around in a hurry from one class to another, or chilling out at one of our coffee shops, just like it has always been. Normal. I hope you are experiencing the same at your Institution and that soon we’ll be fully resuming our exciting partnership; after all, there’s still a lot to be done, and together we’ll do it better. Please keep counting on us at PUCPR International to join you on our way back to an exciting “normal” full of life-changing experiences for our students, faculty, and staff.

We wish you a happy Christmas and a great, normal 2022!

Marcelo Távora Mira | Director of PUCPR International