Don’t mention the weather to Gabriel Lins. Although he’s enjoying university life in Rotterdam, he thinks it’s a little on the chilly side. You can’t blame him. The Masters student came to the Netherlands from the city of Recife in Northeast Brazil where temperatures in winter only fall to a low of 22 degrees. He’s pleased to be in Europe, working hard and aiming for good marks in Commercial and Company Law.
Guidebooks rave about the exciting coastal city of Recife, with its beautiful beaches, historic quarter and fabulous carnival, but it’s not as prosperous as the well-known business centres of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Gabriel had already worked as a lawyer for two years but found it impossible to raise enough money for a postgraduate degree in the Netherlands.
“The costs of living in the Netherlands, coupled with the high non-EU tuition fees, can be extremely burdensome for students coming from outside the EU. The difference in currency value of the Brazilian Real to the Euro also render personal reserves insufficient,” he explains. “To further my career, I was delighted to be granted an Erasmus Trustfonds scholarship to cover tuition fees and living expenses.”
The area around Recife may be one of Brazil’s poorer regions but it’s also a vibrant hub for start-up companies, many based in the Digital Port science park on the site of the original 17th century docks. After graduating from the Federal University of Pernambuco, Gabriel became an intern, then took on a new role in that law firm directly supporting the founders of start-ups to tackle issues around contracts and funding.
'With a qualification from a top university, I can advise my clients even better'
A senior colleague suggested he should study abroad to gain more international experience of his specialism. Earlier, Gabriel had spent a semester at the Universidade de Coimbra in Portugal on an academic exchange scheme but he knew gaining an LLM qualification from a top university meant he could give his clients the best-possible advice.
“Commercial and company lawyers have an important role in helping start-ups get the right structure for success and attract investors. The Erasmus University Rotterdam was a good choice for me as the university emphasises the connections between law and business and it’s incredibly international. My fellow postgraduates come from all over the world and I’m making valuable business contacts, as well as friends for life. I also appreciate that Rotterdam is an important port city – just like Recife.”
Providing opportunities for talented students
Gabriel is passionate about giving other talented young people the chance to study at one of Europe’s best universities, which is why he signed up for the Erasmus Charity Run: “I’m the first in my family to move away from Brazil to study, it’s not that usual in cities like Recife. I want to prove to teenagers that they can achieve your dream and seize your opportunities by applying for a scholarship.”
While Gabriel is loving life in Rotterdam (the weather not so much), he’s looking forward to going home and using the knowledge he had gained here to help businesses develop. But that’s not before he takes some time out, when classes end, to explore his adopted continent of Europe and perhaps even ski for the first time in the Alps.
Erasmus Charity Run 2023
In 2023, the Erasmus Charity Run raised a record €21.203. The 2024 event will be held on Sunday 14 April, as part of the University’s Lustrum events that are celebrating 110 years of creating positive social impact.
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Do you also want to help fund scholarships for talented students like Gabriel? Support one or multiple participants of the Erasmus Charity Run through this website.
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