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A big oil find off the coast of Brazil has led to 100,000 university students travelling all over the world to study.

The Brazilian government put its profits into education for the country's future science and technology leaders. And the first cohort of Brazilian students has started a year's exchange at UWA.

Brazil's Science without Borders program is sending its best students abroad to study between 2012 and 2014.

Dr Olivier Charpenay from UWA 's Centre for English Language Teaching (CELT ) was in Brazil the day the Go8 signed an agreement with the Brazilian Government. "The next day, I was besieged by students from 10 universities all wanting to know about Australia and Australian universities," he said. "The biggest challenge of this program is that the students don't know anything about Australian universities but they have to choose where to study."

Dr Charpenay promoted UWA , and 31 undergraduate students are now here studying a range of science, engineering and technology courses including biomedical and health sciences, computing and information technology, sustainable agricultural production, mineral and nuclear technology and marine science.

The students were welcomed by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paul Johnson, at a morning tea in the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery.

"I hope that the personal connections and research links that you make at UWA will be sustained for years, if not decades, and perhaps continue over your whole career," he said.

Director of the International Centre, Kelly Smith, said the arrangements for the Brazilian students had been finalised very quickly. "The agreement with the Go8 was only signed in March and here you are," he said, paying tribute to the teams in the Student Exchange Office, CELT and the faculties.

Mr Smith told the students that some UWA staff, including Winthrop Professors Kadambot Siddique and Hans Lambers, were active in Brazil and it might be useful for them to seek out these academics.

The Science Faculty Dean Winthrop Professor Tony O'Donnell and its overseas development manager, Shaun Wellbourne-Wood, are travelling to Brazil in the near future to make arrangements for the next cohort, which they hope will include postgraduate students.

Published in UWA News , 6 August 2012