Conference Venue

PBL2010 International Conference will be held in the USP LESTE, the School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities of the University of São Paulo (EACH). It is a new campus, four years old, with an innovative academic approach that fosters interdisciplinarity, citizenship and community involvement. Its 4,100 undergraduate students, from 10 different majors, study in a non-departmental structure, focusing on the use of PBL and active learning methods.

How to get to USP Leste

The campus of USP Leste, the conference venue, is located 30 km from downtown Sao Paulo. It is close to the Guarulhos International Airport (Sao Paulo), but we inform that transportation from the airport to the campus is not easy, due to traffic jams and the Tiete River, which separates Sao Paulo and Guarulhos.

The USP LESTE address, to consult in programs like Google Maps, is: Rua Arlindo Bettio, 1000 – Ermelino Matarazzo – São Paulo – Brasil. By car, the campus can be reached in the Rodovia Ayrton Senna, km 17.

The company Acquaviva Produções e Promoções is offering an optional transfer service for the congress participants, using buses or vans, from the official hotels. To request this service from Acquaviva Produções e Promoções, please refer to to “Accommodations and tourism”.

USP LESTE can be reached with Suburban Train, operated by CPTM (http://www.cptm.sp.gov.br/E_IMAGES/geral/Mapa_popup.asp). There is a train station at USP Leste, in the line 12 (Safira), which starts in the BRAS TRAIN STATION. This train station is connected with the BRAS SUBWAY STATION (line 3 - red) (http://www.metro.sp.gov.br/redes/teredes.shtml). So, you can take the red line on the subway system and make a transfer to the suburban train line at the Bras Station. Coming from downtown, the trip might take around 1 hour or more. The price for one way ticket is R$3,75.

To reach USP Leste by Taxi, leaving the downtown area, the average price is R$ 70,00.


Passports, Visas

Participants are advised to contact the nearest Brazilian embassy or consulate or travel agency to find out the passport and visa requirements for entry into Brazil. Citizens from the US, Mexico and Canada needs VISA; citizens from EU and most Latina American countries don't need VISA.


Currency

The currency in Brazil is called the Real (plural: Reais)= R$ or BRL. (By 11/10/09 US$1=R$1,80; 1€=R$2,60). You can check the daily currency conversion at www.xe.com.

Visa, Diners Club, American Express and MasterCard are widely accepted credit cards.


Climate and clothing

February is summer and a rainy season in Brazil and you should consider bringing an umbrella. The average temperature goes between 18 °C and 28 °C (64 and 82 °F).


The city of São Paulo

São Paulo is a city like no other in Brazil. The largest metropolis in South America, Brazil's cultural and avant-garde center, needs to be known, to be discovered, in order to be loved. After that, it's impossible to forget.

São Paulo Turismo - http://www.spturis.com

São Paulo Convention & Visitors Bureau - http://www.spcvb.com.br/

Youtube channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/spcvb