Brazilian manager Carolina de Rezende Vaz da Costa is Head of International Programs & Projects at SIBE – Steinbeis School of International Business and Entrepreneurship. The practice-oriented institution is active in both Germany and Brazil. We asked Carolina what Brazilian talents and managers expect from delegations and study visits to Germany. 

In your experience, what interests Brazilian participants from industry, education policy, companies and start-ups most when they come to Germany?

 

Brazilian delegations come to Germany with a clear goal: they want to understand how German companies develop innovations, implement them industrially and scale them in global markets. Their interest focuses strongly on industrial modernisation – from automation and Industry 4.0 to digital manufacturing, energy-efficient and climate-friendly production processes.
Another aspect that Brazilian visitors find almost exemplary is the German system of practice-integrated education. The interplay of academic qualification and entrepreneurial application – as SIBE has successfully practised for many years – serves as a benchmark for many Brazilian institutions. They experience here how talents develop not only professionally but also through real projects, and how companies and universities can jointly strengthen their capacity for innovation.
There is also a pronounced interest in partnerships: Brazilian companies actively seek access to German industrial strengths, whether through joint development projects, pilot programmes or entry into European value chains. Many start-ups think in very solution-oriented terms and want to understand the concrete needs of German companies at an early stage so that they can align their development accordingly – a sign of remarkable willingness to cooperate and adapt.

Brazil brings a large pool of innovation energy, technological ideas and market dynamism – and is looking for reliable partners who want to drive projects forward together.

Are these – often young – companies already mature enough to take an internationalisation step towards Germany? And how does SIBE support them?

Many Brazilian start-ups have a strong technological base and an impressive understanding of innovation. What they often lack, however, are the structural competencies to make the move into the German market in a targeted, professional and sustainable way. These include knowledge of regulatory frameworks, typical decision-making processes in German companies and expectations regarding technological maturity levels – as well as the ability to set up international projects methodically.
This is precisely where SIBE offers clear added value – both for the Brazilian start-ups and for German companies. Our work-integrated master’s and continuing education programmes create a structured framework in which international innovation or market-entry projects are developed methodically and implemented along real corporate challenges.

The project work is not theoretical but transfer-oriented: companies bring their own ventures and work together with international talents to realise them.

For German companies, this creates an attractive opportunity to get to know potential Brazilian partners within a professionally guided project and to develop innovations jointly – with clear methods, measurable results and academic quality assurance. We of course also support German companies wishing to enter the Brazilian market.
During the trade fair, SIBE will support Brazilian delegations in identifying relevant German interlocutors and navigating a highly complex trade-fair environment in a targeted manner. We also help German companies find suitable Brazilian start-ups or institutions that bring genuine problem-solving capabilities for industrial challenges and often work in a very application-oriented way.
The collaboration does not end after the fair. SIBE can support both sides in developing the contacts made and assists in structuring pilot projects, innovation initiatives or strategic cooperation models. German companies benefit particularly from our network in Brazil, which has grown over many years, from our methodological project expertise and from our experience in managing intercultural innovation processes.

What do Brazilian participants specifically expect from Hannover Messe – and what opportunities do you see for German companies?

Hannover Messe is a central venue where Brazilian and German innovation players come together and real business opportunities can emerge. Participants expect intensive conversations about how Brazilian technologies and ideas can concretely contribute to the further development of German industries – whether in production technology, the energy sector, the sustainability transformation or the field of digital business models

For German companies, this creates the opportunity to gain access to a highly dynamic innovation ecosystem and to get to know potential partners at an early stage who bring new perspectives and technological approaches to joint projects.