Abstract:

This study investigates the long-term effects of international student mobility on the personal, academic and professional trajectories of former participants in the undergraduate exchange component of Brazil's Science Without Borders Programme (Ciência sem Fronteiras, CsF). Between 2011 and 2016, the programme awarded 78,900 scholarships to undergraduate students in strategic fields of science and technology, with the aim of promoting national development. Although CsF was Brazil's largest higher education internationalisation initiative, systematic monitoring and evaluation of its former participants' trajectories remain limited. To address this gap, a qualitative research design was adopted, combining data collection through an online questionnaire, which yielded 861 valid responses, and 78 narrative interviews conducted in accordance with Fritz Schütze's theoretical and methodological approach. Preliminary findings reveal a participant profile predominantly composed of cisgender individuals, including 51.92% men and 46.57% women, white individuals (67.48%), people without disabilities (95.70%), and those from privileged family and educational backgrounds. These findings are consistent with previous research highlighting inequalities in access to the programme. Regarding the effects of international mobility, participation in CsF represented a turning point in participants' trajectories, generating identity-related, linguistic, cultural and professional outcomes by broadening their horizons and expanding opportunities both in Brazil and abroad. The findings indicate that 76% have completed postgraduate education, 66% work in their field of study, 71.78% earn upper-middle or high salaries, and 23.23% currently reside abroad. Despite these positive outcomes, two key dimensions require consideration: (i) the context of mobility, including the destination country, language, duration of the exchange, and social markers such as gender, race/ethnicity, social class, disability and geographical background; and (ii) return to the country of origin, which may be characterised by feelings of non-belonging, difficulties in obtaining academic credit recognition, mental health challenges, and a lack of institutional spaces for support and for sharing international experiences.