Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro or University of Brazil (UFRJ; Portuguese: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro or ) is a public research university located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest federal university in the country and is one of the Brazilian centers of excellence in teaching and research. In terms of scientific, artistic and cultural productions it is recognized nationally and internationally due to the great professors, researchers, reviews and assessments made by international agencies. In 2017 QS World University Rankings ranked UFRJ as the best Brazilian federal university, as well as the third best university in the country occupying the seventh position among institutions of Latin America. In 2016 and 2017 the Ranking Universitário Folha (RUF) ranked UFRJ as the best university in Brazil and the best Federal University in the country. The Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) published in 2017, rated UFRJ as the second best university in the world in the Zoology field.

Brazil's first official higher education institution, it has operated continuously since 1792, when the "Real Academia de Artilharia, Fortificação e Desenho" (Royal Academy of Artillery, Fortification and Design, precursor to the university's current Polytechnic School) was founded, and served as basis for the country's college system since its officialization in 1920. Besides its 157 undergraduate and 580 postgraduate courses, the UFRJ is responsible for seven museums, most notably the National Museum, nine hospitals, hundreds of laboratories and research facilities and forty-three libraries. Its history and identity are closely tied to the Brazilian ambitions of forging a modern, competitive and just society.

The university is located mainly in Rio de Janeiro, with satellites spreading to ten other cities. Its main campuses are the historical campus of "Praia Vermelha" (Red Beach) and the newer "Cidade Universitária" (College City), which houses the "Parque Tecnológico do Rio" (Technology Park of Rio) - a science, technology and innovation development cluster. There are also several off-campus units scattered in Rio de Janeiro: the School of Music, the College of Law Studies, the Institute of Philosophy and Social Sciences and the Institute of History, in downtown Rio; the National Museum and the Valongo Observatory (not to be confused with the National Observatory); and the high-school unit "Colégio de Aplicação" (Application College) in Lagoa. To the city of Macaé, located in the State's northern region, was dedicated a research and learning center focused on environmental issues and oil-related matters, and the city of Duque de Caxias, in partnership with the National Institute of Metrics, Normalization and Industrial Quality (Inmetro), saw the implementation of "Pólo Avançado de Xerém" (Advanced Center of Xerém), aimed at boosting research in the fields of biotechnology and nanotechnology.

UFRJ is one of the main actors in the formation of the Brazilian intellectual elite, contributing significantly to build not only the history of Rio de Janeiro but also of Brazil. Some of its former students include renowned economists Carlos Lessa and Mario Henrique Simonsen; Minister Marco Aurélio Mello; the architect Oscar Niemeyer; the philosopher and politician Roberto Mangabeira Unger; the educator Anísio Teixeira; the engineer Benjamin Constant; writers Clarice Lispector, Jorge Amado and Vinicius de Moraes; politicians Francisco Pereira Passos, Osvaldo Aranha and Pedro Calmon, besides the great physicians Carlos Chagas, Oswaldo Cruz and Vital Brazil.

History

Creation

The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro is a direct descendant of Brazil's first higher education courses. Created on September 7, 1920 (Brazilian Independence Day) by president Epitácio Pessoa through the Law Decree 14343, the institution was initially named "University of Rio de Janeiro". Its history, however, is much vaster and parallel to that of the country's cultural, economic and social development (many of its courses trace back to the very foundations of Brazilian higher education system).

In its inception, the university was composed by the "Escola Politécnica" (Polytechnic School, founded on December 17, 1792 as Royal Academy of Artillery, Fortification and Design, during the reign of Portuguese Queen Maria I), the "Faculdade Nacional de Medicina" (National College of Medicine, founded on April 2, 1808, by Dom João VI under the name of Academy of Medicine and Surgery) and by the "Faculdade Nacional de Direito" (National College of Law, which came to exist after the fusion between the College of Legal and Social Sciences and the Free College of Law - both recognized by the Law Decree 693 of October 1, 1891).

To these initial units many others were progressively added, such as the "Escola Nacional de Belas Artes" (National School of Fine Arts) and the "Faculdade Nacional de Filosofia" (National College of Philosophy). Thanks to such achievements, the UFRJ toke crucial role in the implantation of Brazilian higher education, which was in fact an aspiration from Brazilian intellectual elite since the country's colonial era. Due to the longstanding tradition of its pioneering courses, the university functioned as the "scholar mill" upon which most of Brazil's subsequent higher education institutions were molded.

Restructuring

In 1937, Getúlio Vargas's minister of education, , announced a reform of the education system, under which the institution changed its name to the "University of Brazil". The change reflected the government's aim of controlling the quality of the national higher education system - mainly by setting a standard by which all other universities would have to conform. Such decision was strongly influenced by the French concept of university - that in which component schools are isolated in order to assume a specific professionalizing teaching method under strong state control -, which contrasted to the German model seen, for example, in the University of São Paulo, founded in 1934.

The early 1950s marked the institutionalization of research in the university, which consequentially led to the implementation of research institutes, full-time academic staff, instruction of highly specialized professors and the establishment of partnership with national and international financing agencies.

In 1958, occasion for the 150-year anniversary of UFRJ's medicine school, the university was faced by the urgent needs of a structural reform that stimulated deeper participation and cooperation among professors and students with college affairs and a more rational, efficiency-based use of public resources. After an ample sequence of debates and public consultations, the resulting plans for reforms in University of Brazil were quickly absorbed by the scientific community, set a new standard for national college planning and influenced even, among others, Brazilian communication industries and government's decisional spheres.

In 1965, under the government of general Castelo Branco, the university would achieve plain financial, didactic and academic autonomy - a condition called, according to Brazilian legislature, "autarchy" - and acquire its current name, which followed the still-active standard for federal university naming (i.e.: Federal University of name of State or region).

After the reformation process, the university was propelled into a deeper and riskier restructuring phase that aimed to make the institution fit for the recently approved Law Decree of March 13, 1967 - a situation widely regarded as too bold for a nation with recent history as an independent territory and a culture that, inheriting traits from the Portuguese colonial rule, heavily emphasized tradition and stability.

Present day

The UFRJ keeps an "open-doors policy" regarding foreigners who arrive at it to disseminate or accumulate expertise; this also allows for internship or job opportunities for its teaching staff in different institutions and areas of research. International interexchange and partnerships are profuse, leading to reformist tendencies that most of times successfully coexist with the university's strong traditional ties.

The UFRJ adopts the Roman goddess Minerva - patroness of the Arts and all professions; also associated with knowledge and intellectuality - as its mascot, and many sculptures depicting the goddess are seem scattered throughout the institution. In 2000, the rectory requested to the Federal Justice that the university's name was changed back to "University of Brazil", as the old name has been changed by an arbitrary decree during the country's years of military dictatorship. The request was deferred, so it is correct to address the university by either names.

The university manages an ambitious program for extension courses, consisting mostly in providing full-time education to financially debilitated non-students of varying education backgrounds. Besides, the UFRJ contributes heavily to Rio de Janeiro's public health with its nine college hospitals, providing for over one thousand vacancies, and its deep integration with the State's health treatment network. In 2010, the institution achieved a "very good" evaluation and a maximum score in the Ministry of Education's General Index of College Courses ("Índice Geral de Cursos", or IGC in Portuguese). Its clear emphasis on research alludes to the personal motto of one of its most famous and distinguished scientists:

Notable Rectors

Some of the famous figures that have held the post of rector in UFRJ are: , doctor, first-ever rector and former member of the Brazilian Academy of Literature(ABL); Raul Leitão da Cunha, doctor; Pedro Calmon, former minister of Education and Health; Deolindo Couto, former member of the ABL; Raymundo Augustto de Castro Moniz de Aragão, former minister of Education; Carlos Lessa, economist and former president of "Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Soc…