International students Archives - EBI International Consulting Group

EBI Consulting meets Gabriella Marques de Azevedo dos Santos

I am Gabriella Marques, Brazilian, 33 years old, and married. I lived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, until 2017, when I moved to Bogotá, Colombia. I studied law at Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV Law School) in Brazil and graduated in 2012. I earned my law degree in Colombia in 2019 after studying at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Law School. I also have an LLM (2014) and a Master’s Academic Degree (2017) in regulatory affairs. I have over six years of experience in public and private entities in Brazil and more than three years of experience in law firms and companies in Colombia. That gave me a better knowledge of Colombian culture from the perspective of local lawyers.

As a Brazilian and Colombian lawyer, I built up my own business through a law firm based in Bogotá and Rio de Janeiro (GM Associados), designed to support multinational companies in achieving their goals in Latin America. So far, the firm has already worked for companies in the food, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, cosmetics, energy, pharmaceuticals, non-governmental organizations, and technology sectors. GM Associados provides comprehensive service through alliances with qualified and specialized professionals from the Colombian-Brazilian network.

I am studying for an MBA at the University of Canada West for three main reasons. Firstly, its program schedule has several excellent lectures for my professional development, such as business fundamentals, leadership in the global context, accounting for managers, financial management, and operations management. These courses give me a better understanding of my customers’ business management, bringing our relationship even closer based on trust and quality services.

University Canada West’s particular focus on fostering female leadership is the second reason for choosing this MBA. I cannot think of a better place to improve my leadership skills, share my knowledge with colleagues and those supporting women, and learn from other Canadian and international students and professors.

Thirdly, the decision for a university based in Vancouver is linked to the fact that the country’s main port is located here, making Vancouver the heart of importing and exporting goods and services through Canada. It is the core business of GM Associados! Hence, I aim to be a reference for Canadian companies interested in Latin American markets and vice-versa.

Last but not least, I arrived in Vancouver in January 2022, and so far I am a volunteer at the Federation of Canadian-Brazilian Businesses as a business development coordinator.

In line with that goal, I am pleased to be in a working association with EBI Consulting to look at ways on how we can expand the opportunities for Canadian companies interested in expanding their business in South America.

The latest WYSTC news (Jan 14, 2022) reports that the US government intends to impose more costs (i.e. higher fees) on the ability of international students to access the US post-secondary market. EBI has been engaged in the global student market since its founding more than 25 years ago. We have always viewed the international student market at both the business and the philosophical levels as extremely attractive.
Forty years ago in Canada, international students were seen by most post-secondary institutions as a nice-to-have option that somehow made the student body more exciting and sophisticated because of its internationalization.

Today, many Canadian post-secondary institutions are dependent upon the international students to cover the shortfalls in their budgets that governments are no longer willing or able to cover. The international student market is a multibillion-dollar business. However, while the business side of the global student market is significant, the philosophical side has greater importance. Since the days of the Academy of ancient Athens, ideas developed in educational institutions have crossed borders, inspired creativity and transformed the world we live in. Whether it is Adam Smith or Karl Marx, the attempts to block intellectual thought by closing borders and rejecting the outsider have consistently failed. When the Chinese emperor banned Zheng He from travelling the world, China’s slow decline commenced.

Throughout history, the need to engage and embrace the thinking from around the globe has been central to humankind’s advancement. That need has never been greater in today’s world of climate change and national belligerence.

So EBI is firmly against unreasonable or excessive impediments to the free flow of students to study and work in other countries. The US, over the years, has been the largest recipient of international students on the planet. Silicon Valley, in many respects, would not be where it is today without the infusion of former international students. So even an increase in visa fees for admission to the USA seems to us a step that will ultimately hurt the country it is supposing to help. Canada has been a general beneficiary of these actions. Sill, it is in no one’s interest who believes in the fundamentals espoused 2000 years in the Academy to have the USA continue to build barriers to access their post-secondary institutions.

In the meantime, EBI Group will continue to assist international students in accessing post-secondary institutions in Canada.

Expanding opportunities in South America

Strategy and Leadership