Brazil as next university superpower?

Substantial government investment has propelled Brazil’s universities to the top of the first QS University Rankings: Latin America.
While university enrolment in Brazil has tripled in the last decade, evidence suggests the investment in higher education is fuelling Brazil’s rapid economic growth.
Danny Byrne, editor of topuniversities.com, says Brazil, Russia, India and China are pouring funds into building world-class universities, while western governments are cutting back.
“These nations see education as key to fulfilling their potential as economic superpowers,” he says. China and India have already unveiled “ambitious investment plans”, but Brazil may emerge as a major player internationally.
Brazil accounts for 65 of the top 200 universities, with the University of Sao Paulo topping the table, and boasts eight of the top ten universities for research. Universities in Brazil were also found to have the region’s highest proportion of academics holding a PhD.
The country’s economy is already the seventh largest in the world and some experts predict it will overtake Canada, Italy, France, the UK and Germany in the next 20 years. QS head of research Ben Sowter says world-class education will be central to this development and the rankings show that “Brazil’s investments are already beginning to reap dividends”.