The Nursing School of Coimbra (ESEnfC) will collaborate with the University of Dili (UNDIL) in East Timor for the next five years. The protocol for academic, scientific, and cultural collaboration between the two institutions was signed earlier this month.
This collaboration will involve exchanging students for bachelor's, master's, and advanced research training ("sandwich" Ph.D. and postdoctoral) programs; partnering faculty from both institutions in joint research projects or other scientific or educational activities; and inter-institutional mobility of faculty and/or undergraduate and postgraduate students for scientific and technical internships.
On February 1, the President of the ESEnfC, António Fernando Salgueiro Amaral, and the Rector of the UNDIL, José Agostinho da Costa Belo Pereira, signed the collaboration protocol. It includes the joint participation in international courses, collaboration between faculty from both institutions in teaching undergraduate or postgraduate programs, and supervision of master's dissertations and doctoral theses of the other party, subject to the prior approval of the respective scientific boards and in accordance with the internal regulations of each institution.
The ESEnfC and the UNDIL collaboration protocol also includes cultural extension projects to be carried out by either party.
Regarding the reasons for choosing the ESEnfC for this type of collaboration, the UNDIL points out that the ESEnfC is a Portuguese higher education institution of excellence, internationally recognized and sought after for the qualifications of its faculty and its substantial investment in scientific research and innovation in nursing, which, since it was founded in 1881, has "142 years of wisdom and experience to share with East Timor.”
The UNDIL Faculty of Health Sciences has three departments: Public Health, General Nursing, and Dental Nursing. Currently, the General Nursing program has close to 1500 students and is the most sought-after by students.
The ESEnfC and the UNDIL are members of the RACS - Academic Network of Health Sciences of Portuguese-speaking Countries.
Collaboration with Timor since 2016
The ESEnfC began collaborating with the Timorese higher education system in 2016, when it signed a memorandum of understanding with the National University of Timor Lorosa'e (UNTL), formalizing the desire of both institutions to establish academic, scientific, and cultural ties.
The memorandum of understanding established several goals, including conducting research in specific fields, exchanging faculty and students for academic and professional qualifications, and participating in international programs to increase the mobility of students, researchers, and faculty. The goals of this agreement remain in effect.
Maria da Conceição Bento, the then President of ESEnfC, and Francisco Miguel Martins, the former rector of UNTL, signed the document that marked the beginning of the collaboration with this Southeast Asian university.
[2024-02-12]
