The graduate student Graziela Sarmento carried out work on accessible and inclusive communication, within the scope of the Graduate Program in Cultural Diversity and Social Inclusion

A graduate student from Feevale University carried out the first defense of her master's thesis in Cultural Diversity and Social Inclusion in collaboration with the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, in Portugal. Academic co-tutorship is a type of international cooperation that allows a graduate student to get a master's or doctorate degree at two institutions, one in Brazil and another abroad. Guidance is carried out by two teachers, one at the home institution and the other at the foreign institution.

Academic Graziela Sarmento presented the defense of her dissertation “Communicative accessibility in audiovisual advertising: a case study”. In the Graduate Program in Cultural Diversity and Social Inclusion, the student was supervised by professor Dinora Tereza Zucchetti, and at the Master's program in Accessible Communication from the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, the guidance was under the responsibility of professor Carla Sofia Costa Freire.

The work focuses on a case study of a consultancy dedicated to produce accessible and inclusive communication. Although they represent more than 9% of the Brazilian population, people with disabilities still face many barriers in accessing the consumer market, as this audience is represented by only 1.2% of advertising pieces. After analyzing advertising films made by the consultancy based on the contracting agency's needs for its clients, in addition to interviews with professionals and evaluation of feedback between teams, it was concluded that the need for this type of service is related to a specific social validation. “There is still an important way to go towards raising awareness of accessibility”, the researcher declares in the document.

According to Graziela, in addition to researching such an important topic, obtaining a joint title is an achievement for life. “The double degree program means more than carrying out some research. For me, it helped me develop intercultural skills. It’s a way of rethinking the way we do research and enriching it”, she states. “The topic is extremely relevant, having been evaluated by an examining board made up of a Brazilian and two Portuguese professors. It is a piece of work with a high social impact”, agrees the academic advisor at Feevale, professor Dinora Zucchetti.

Opportunity to pursue a master's or doctorate degree under joint supervision

The coordinator of the Graduate Program in Cultural Diversity and Social Inclusion at Feevale, Rosemari Lorenz Martins, explains that the agreement with the IPL for academic co-tutorship was signed in 2019, offering this option to academics since then. “The defense of Graziela's dissertation in co-tutorship is very important to us, because it is the result of academic-scientific cooperation between Feevale and IPL, as a way of strengthening a partnership lasting many years, adding value not only to the master’s student, but to the whole program”, she explains.

In co-tutorship, the student can expand their knowledge, through access to new knowledge and methodologies, but mainly through dialogue between two cultures. Thus, this action solidifies the internationalization of the PPG. For the student and others who will benefit from co-tutorship in the future, this is an excellent opportunity to get the title both in Brazil and in the partner country, intensifying the production of multicultural knowledge and opportunities for action”, concludes Rosemari.

More information about the Graduation Program in Cultural Diversity and Social Inclusion can be found on the website www.feevale.br/pgdiversidade.