Sidney Pereira Da Silva

When Sidney Da Silva started his Master's degree programme in Education with International and Comparative Education, he planned to build a network in Sweden and start working in education. However, COVID-19 put a strain on these plans and possibilities for social interaction. Yet, when he began to collect data for his master's thesis at beginning of 2022, invitations and opportunities presented themselves. 

"When I started to collect data and interview Brazilian teachers, many of them became interested in my research topic on Technology Integration and Higher Education. That is when the invitations began to emerge", explained Sidney.

First, Sidney received invitations to join seminars and attend research group discussions. After a few weeks, an invitation to write a book chapter immerged, which will soon be published. Recently, he was invited by researchers based in Brazil and Portugal to present "Digital Education in a time of pandemic: the case of Sweden" at an international network of researchers.

Daniel Nilsson Brodén

"When I received the invitation, I thought I could do it, but It could be much better having someone from Sweden to present it together. I considered this possibility because we learned about the importance of the context and the relevance of different points of view in the Mater's program at Stockholm University. Although I live in Sweden, it could be relevant for Brazilian researchers to listen to a Swedish researcher. Then, I looked at my program, which is international, and invited Daniel Nilsson Brodén because he has been involved with politics and education in Sweden. He could give a good description of the Swedish educational system context." said Sidney.

Although the pandemic brought many challenges for students, the master's thesis process helped in building connections and expanding their networks.

"We are the COVID generation of students because we started the master's program online, and we are finishing it online due to the pandemic. So, using the data collection process to contact people was a good way to recover part of what we lost due to the pandemic," comments Sidney.   

On May 26th at 22.00, Daniel and Sidney will be live on the International Network of Education OnLIFE youtube channel to present and discuss digital education issues and the pandemic. The International Network focuses on creating an open environment for knowledge exchange between researchers, managers, teachers, and students from Brazil and other countries.

About

Digital Education in a time of pandemic: the case of Sweden 
Date: May 26th
Time: 22.00 (Swedish time)
Language: Portuguese/English
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Umz3a21pLnk