Research trip to the UFSM in Santa Maria, Brazil
From June 8 to 12, 2026, a delegation from the LENA Chair at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg once again traveled to the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM) in Brazil. As in the previous year, the visit took place as part of the PROBRAL research project, funded by the DAAD and CAPES and jointly carried out by UFSM, Unisinos, and OVGU.
The week focused on the further development of the PROBRAL project. Representing the German side were Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Martin Wolter, João Cipriani, Artem Kashtanov, Christoph Sauer, and Christoph Andres. During several intensive working sessions, the current status of the project was presented and discussed jointly, with open dialogue on existing limitations and challenges. The connection between the two sides is already well established; local co-simulations are running successfully; and joint case studies are planned for the coming months to further advance the project. As a result of the week’s discussions, a concrete milestone plan was established for the coming year leading up to the next meeting in Brazil; it was also agreed upon which staff members would take on which tasks and come to Germany as part of a research visit.
The PROBRAL meeting was accompanied by two additional program items dedicated to German-Brazilian cooperation. At the CCBRAL workshop on cooperation between Brazil and Germany, Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Martin Wolter and Dr.-Ing. Mauro Dos Santos Ortiz presented the long-standing collaboration between OVGU and UFSM, including past PROBRAL projects as well as successfully completed cotutelle doctoral degrees; the ongoing project of the German-Brazilian Engineering Academy (DeBraIA) was also presented in this context. Later in the week, a separate session on DeBraIA took place, during which Prof. Dr.-Ing. Roberto Leidhold, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology (FEIT) at OVGU, together with Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Martin Wolter and Dr.-Ing. Mauro Dos Santos Ortiz, presented OVGU’s academic programs as well as the opportunities for a dual degree through DeBraIA. As part of the program, two UFSM master’s students are already studying at OVGU; there is also interest in the future in involving additional departments, such as mechanical engineering, in the collaboration. At the UFSM Rector’s Office, a cooperation agreement was also signed between UFSM and TU Dresden, which will thus be integrated into the collaboration as an additional partner in the future.
In addition to PROBRAL and DeBraIA, a third area of German-Brazilian cooperation came into focus this week: partial discharge measurement, a field in which OVGU and UFSM have been collaborating for some time. During the meeting in Santa Maria, Kaynan Maresh and Christoph Andres, together with Prof. Dr. Aécio de Lima Oliveira (LAPES) and Prof. Dr. Vitor Cristiano Bender (IEM), investigated partial discharges on various pieces of equipment, both in the field and in the laboratory. At the substation, medium-voltage cables and current transformers were measured using HFCT prototypes; in the IEM’s high-voltage laboratory, a voltage transformer and a power transformer were tested, also using OVGU prototypes. All participants described the technical exchange as very productive, and promising initial results have already been achieved. The meeting thus laid important groundwork for further joint collaboration on this project between UFSM and OVGU.
Beyond the technical sessions, the visit offered a wide range of opportunities for exchange, including with students working at the IEM and LAPES at UFSM. Overall, the week was successful and productive for everyone involved: Both in the PROBRAL project and in the new collaboration on partial discharge measurement, the partnership between OVGU, UFSM, and the other partners was strengthened, and concrete next steps were identified. Special thanks go to the organizers on both sides for their excellent preparation and coordination of the week, as well as to the numerous students and staff at UFSM, whose active support in carrying out the agenda contributed significantly to the success of the visit.