Brazil's Education Ministry approves $1.8 M upgrade to UFSC student housing

On 1 June, Brazil’s Ministry of Education (MEC) signed an order of service authorising a R$ 1.8 million renovation of the Casa do Estudante Universitário (CEU) at the Federal University of Santa Catarina’s main campus in Florianópolis. The work, scheduled for completion in February 2027, will cover engineering upgrades, general painting, window replacement and improvements to water‑heating and external drainage systems across a 4,000‑square‑metre area.

The CEU provides 156 free residential places for low‑income undergraduate students from other municipalities, covering utilities such as water, electricity and gas. The ceremony was attended by Aristóteles Cardona, director of Development of Health Education at the Secretariat of Higher Education, parliamentary adviser Leonardo de Brito and UFSC rector Irineu Souza. The project is part of the Novo Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento (Novo PAC), under which UFSC has already received R$ 59 million for other campus infrastructure.

The upgrade aims to improve living conditions and support student retention in federal higher‑education institutions.