UFES's INTERNACIONALIZATION POLICY: THE SEEK FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

This article analyzes how internationalization appears in the institutional documents of the Federal University of Espirito Santo (UFES), in other words, what conceptions, motives and strategies are planned in the Institution's policy for its execution. The study has a qualitative approach, the data collection is composed by documental analysis and for the treatment of the data the method is content analysis according to Bardin (2004). As results, created in 1954, UFES is considered the main Institution of Higher Education (IES) in the state of Espirito Santo (ES). Since 2012, with the objective of improve the quality of its Postgraduate Programs (PPG), especially seeking for excellence, as measured by concepts 6 and 7 of Coordination of Improvement of Personnel in Higher Education (CAPES), UFES developed and implemented a strategic planning with goals and actions. Among the actions, there was the creation of an International Office (SRI), the Espirito Santo Internationalization Network of Education (RIEES), as well as the elaboration of a joint project, with the involvement of nine PPG from UFES, in the Institutional Internationalization Program (Print) funded by CAPES. This, on the one hand, shows an articulated academic effort of its teachers and PPG and, on the other hand, allows to observe the existence of contradictions in the planning process of actions for internationalization, considering the diversity and specificity of the programs and the Brazilian both political and economic political context.