Even in days of confinement and social isolation, due to Covid-19, students of the Professional Master’s Program of the Stricto Sensu Postgraduate Program in Jurisdictional Provision and Human Rights, developed in partnership with Federal University of Tocantins (UFT), remain firm in their academic growth journey. To date, five dissertation defenses have already taken place in virtual modality, with the help of digital platforms. As a result, the school of Judges of Tocantins (ESMAT) became the first educational institution for magistrates to hold dissertation juries over the internet in the country.
For Esmat’s general diretor, judge Marco Villas Boas, investments in academic infrastructure provided support for the Stricto Sensu Graduate Program not to be interrupted due to the global Coronavirus pandemic. “Not only the Master’s degree, but also courses in Distance Learning modality, videoconferences and lectures continue with their normal activities. We are in social isolation, but our team remains commited to guarantee the mission of our entity, which is to train and improve magistrates and civil servers in search of good practices and excellence in the provision of jurisdiction”, he emphasized.
Beginning
The first academic to use the new evaluation format was the magistrate Eduardo Barbosa Fernandes, wha has lived in Arraias for nine years, in the extreme south-eastern region of Tocantins, setting an example. Having his research, entitled “Management of the First Degree Judicial Units in the State Justice of Tocantins”, he had his defense scheduled for the first week of March, the date on which the first social distance actions in Tocantins began. “Preparation proceeded normally, according to the guidelines drawn up with the professor-advisor, but it had to be postponed due to the measures of social isolation. At first, there was no other date set. At the beginning of April, I received the information that UFT had standardized the procedure for defense by videoconference and asked me if I agreed or preferred to wait for the release for face-to-face defense, still with no definite date. I agreed with the defense by videoconference, which took place on April 9th”, he affirmed.
Adaptations
Also according to the magistrate, an entire preparation had to be assembled for the new format, since the defense of the dissertation itself represents a major advance in academic life, but in contrast it was also a moment of great anxiety. “As I did not know the presentation procedure properly, my advisor explained the step by step of the videoconference system adopted by UFT, from then on I started to rehearse the exhibition, as the time was limited to 20 minutes, as in the face-to-face modality, but in a virtual environment, and after some preparation I managed to summarize the subject in the given time”, he points out.
Evaluation
After the presentation, which lasted about an hour, in addition to preparation before the defense began, the judge approved the new evaluation method. “I believe it is an interesting path, not only at this time of crisis and the need for distance, but a tool to be thought to reduce costs in technical and academic training, notably in graduate school”, he emphasized.
The presentation of the legal advisor Nathalia Canhedo, resident in the capital and active in the Special Civil and Criminal Court of the Northern Region, and her academic work “Cooperation as an instrument to enforce the rights of the worker rescued under conditions similar to that of a slave in Tocantins”. , took place on May 5th. It needed training and preparation; she also had a small amount of anxiety and had her husband as an audience. “ I liked the format, although I was very anxious about giving a problem on internet, on the computer or even in the presentation. So, I had to think about a plan B in case something went wrong”, she recalls.
In the end everything went well, and for the graduate student, despite the duration of the defense having extended to the usual term, the adapted evaluation resource ensured her approval in the Master’s. “It is a relatively easy resource to be used, and the fact of being at home, sitting, in the comfort of home gave me a little more security in speech, even to manage time”, says the master.
Partnership
According to Eugenia Paula Meireles Machado, head of the Pedagogical Division of the Master’s Degree, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the dissertation defense, held on April 9th, was the first, in the history of the School of Judges of Tocantins, to be defended entirely by videoconference. The result, in partnership with UFT, was quite satisfactory. “The bank was defended during the quarantine, when Esmat had already suspended most of its face-to-face activities due to the Covid-19 pandemic. For that reason, the defense session took place virtually, with the participation of the master’s and professors through a digital platform. This is an important landmark to demonstrate the value and responsibility that the School has to the public of students and professionals”, he emphasized.
Master
Launched in 2013, the Stricto Sensu Graduate Program for Professional Master’s in Jurisdictional Provision and Human Rights, developed in partnership with Federal University of Tocantins (UFT) is currently in its eighth academics class. Currently, the disciplines and guidelines are given through Esmat’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), as well as in several videoconferencing platforms available on the Internet. Currently, 127 students have defended their dissertations and received the Master’s Degree.
