University of Porto invests 16 million euros to create more courses and upgrade facilities
Assuming its strong commitment to the Multidisciplinary Training Program (Programa de Formação Multidisciplinar), the University of Porto will invest, over the next four and a half years, more than 16 million euros to attract new students. The fund, made available through the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), will allow the launch of more than 150 new courses and training for adults, as well as five degrees in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM).
According to the University of Porto, this initiative is part of "the effort to modernize higher education and (re)qualify the Portuguese population" and aims to attract more than 9,500 new students through training opportunities, the strengthening of incentives and intervention in physical and technological infrastructure.
The project, which started in early 2022, is part of the "Impulso Jovens STEAM" and "Impulso Adultos" programs. It is, in fact, the latter that takes most of the investment, more than nine million euros, which will translate into the "launch of 157 short courses of initial and postgraduate level, designed to meet the needs of updating and retraining skills of working adults", explains the institution.
The offer is also composed of 153 non-degree courses as specialization courses, advanced studies and continuing education in areas such as Environment and Sustainability, Arts and Humanities, Science and Technology, Education, Teacher Training and Career Guidance, and Health. In addition to these, there are three professional master's degrees and one in the area of Artificial Intelligence.
This "Impulso Adultos" program has "more than a hundred partner entities, including research centers and collaborative laboratories, secondary schools and training centers, municipalities, associations, companies, among others".
The remaining seven million euros will be invested in "reinforcing the 1st cycle training offer in the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) area". The bet on "Impulso Jovens STEAM" has already taken its first steps with the creation, in 2021/2022, of a degree in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, and now sees a chance to grow with the launch of new degrees in Bioinformatics, Design, Literature and Interarts Studies, Applied Mathematics, and Digital Health and Translational Medicine.
In the field of incentives, and "with the purpose of fighting drop-outs and promoting a greater and more inclusive participation of the population in higher education", the University of Porto will extend support for students "coming from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds". The measures include, for example, co-payment of tuition fees "for people with a lower level of qualification or who are unemployed", or the awarding of merit scholarships.
The amount coming from the RRP will also allow the redevelopment of the Abel Salazar Building, "which will host most of the new training activities", says the University of Porto, as well as the "updating of the computer network infrastructure" and the "adaptation of auditoriums, amphitheatres and classrooms for e-learning or b-learning classes".
