The chancellor of the University of Porto, António de Sousa Pereira, announced that the negotiations for the installation of a technology center and an innovation center on the grounds of the former Petrogal refinery in Matosinhos are "at a very advanced stage
According to Jornal de Notícias, the future campus will be a "true incubator of talent in sectors of intense specialization," said the official, on the afternoon of Wednesday, at the closing of the solemn session commemorating the 112th anniversary of the institution.
According to the rector, the new campus "will allow the university to grow and affirm itself as a center of excellence in the fields of carbon and climate neutrality, clean and renewable energy, sustainable mobility, and circular economy. Dedicated to engineering and science, the center will occupy an area of about 50 hectares. The JN found out that it will be installed in the southern end of the former Leça da Palmeira refinery, in an area with better access, including public transportation, than the initially planned northern part.
Regarding the construction and rehabilitation of university residences, António de Sousa Pereira said that, "despite the difficulties and constraints in the construction industry and the resulting budgetary uncertainty, the projects are advancing within the planned deadlines. He added, incidentally, that the University of Porto expects to open, "already at the beginning of next academic year", the residence of Carvalhosa, which will have 54 beds.
Using funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan, the project that aims to increase the housing capacity of young university students in the city includes the construction of three residences (Carvalhosa, Boa Hora and Asprela), with a total of 411 beds, and the upgrading of four others (Campo Alegre III, Jayme Rios de Sousa, Novais Barbosa and Alberto Amaral). In the case of the buildings to be renovated, the goal is to increase energy efficiency and improve living spaces, bedrooms, and kitchens. "The total planned investment is about 32 million euros," recalled the chancellor, stressing that the University of Porto will ensure, with its own revenue, a slice of 12 million.
It was also mentioned the work of upgrading the building Abel Salazar, which will create "a multidisciplinary and post-labor training space that will extend and strengthen" the training offer, in addition to providing a breakthrough "in continuing training and higher qualification of human resources" of the University of Porto. The rector also highlighted a partnership with the company Metro do Porto, in order to create a "study and e-learning space on the Campo Alegre station" of the future Rubi line. The multifunctional space will have capacity for a hundred simultaneous users.
Honorary rector of the University of Lisbon, António Sampaio da Nóvoa was the guest speaker at this year's solemn session. Considering that the best universities in the world "have remained sure of their identity and their difference", the professor also stressed that "there is more life" beyond the amphitheaters, meaning that "the classroom is important but not enough".
The speaker said that the future of the country depends on the strength, the vigor and the contribution of the universities and regretted that, almost 50 years after the 25th of April, the autonomy of the universities has still not been truly consecrated. He defended, for this reason, that all higher education should demand "the fulfillment of the Constitution" in this matter. His speech was warmly applauded by the audience in the Rectory's main hall, which included, among others, representatives of the academic community, mayors, deputies, military personnel, and religious entities.
The issue of housing for university students had already been addressed by the president of the Academic Federation of Porto. Ana Gabriela Cabilhas referred that "the students' struggle allowed to find financing for the construction of the public residences" and considered that this was "a good example of how the institutions should listen to their students". "If they had done it earlier, probably the problem would not be as serious as it is today," she added.
For Ana Gabriela Cabilhas, the University of Porto "is not prepared to welcome working students", due to several factors. She considers that "the excessive workload, the lack of distance learning methodologies and the disrespect in the application of the statute do not converge with the opening of doors to lifelong learning.
The criticism continued. The leader said that the "strategic planning of the University of Porto lacks cohesion". In an allusion to the recently approved plan, she affirmed that "answering to the strategic vision for 2030 brings added responsibilities", not being enough to have "reflection groups that produce reports of many pages, so that everything stays more or less the same".
Ana Gabriela Cabilhas also mentioned that, "at the University of Porto, 72% of professors remain in the house where they got their PhD", adding that mobility, being an opportunity for personal and academic growth, "cannot be an exclusive stage for students". To teachers he left another message: "Teachers need to find new ways to evaluate, to achieve a more student-centered teaching, in their specificities and in the flexible paths they aim for".
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