Dr Claudia Forte is Research Professor in undergraduate and Lato Sensu and International and Interinstitutional Coordinator at Mackenzie Presbyterian University (UPM). She presides over the Standing Committee of Internationalisation at UPM, besides acting as an advisor and director of international relations for the Mackenzie Presbyterian University. Dr Forte integrates groups of researchers and consultants for Brazil’s United Nations Development Programme, working on the development of microfinance, microcredit, social inclusion and regional development. She is also referee of several scientific academic journals.

Dr Claudia Forte graduated in Business Administration from the Catholic University of São Paulo in 1996 and went on to complete a Master’s in Business Administration from the same institution in 2001. Dr Forte gained her PhD in Latin American Integration, USP from São Paulo University in 2006. The title of her thesis was Case study comparing microcredit programs in Latin America: the socioeconomic impact on women from the cities of Bogota and Recife. She is also an appraiser for ad hoc courses in Business Administration, International Business and International Relations for the National Institute for Educational Studies and Research.

Dr Forte is the author of over 20 papers, two books and several articles about high education internationalisation, in addition to publishing several articles in national and international newspapers. She is a speaker and guest lecturer in several international congresses on themes including administration, entrepreneurship, microfinance, international relations among others.