This Thursday, March 2, the Portuguese Catholic University (UCP) signed a collaboration protocol with the Timorese Catholic University (UCT) São João Paulo II, created just two years ago, thus becoming the youngest Catholic university in the world. world.
The João Paulo II Timorese Catholic University was created on December 8, 2021, is headquartered in Dili, and has 4 Faculties: Medical Sciences (FCM); Agricultural Engineering (FEA); Education, Languages and Arts (FELA) and Human Sciences (FCH).
“We are here to grow together”, said the Rector of the UCP, Isabel Capeloa Gil, recalling that “Católica has collaborated with Timor-Leste since the independence of that country, through the training of Portuguese teachers, an initiative led by Peter Stilwell and welcoming Timorese students.” Now, with the signing of this protocol, “we are going to continue this collaboration in a more structured way”, concluded the Rector.
As president of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (FIUC), Isabel Capeloa Gil said that she was “great for the Timorese university to be part of the Federation”, encouraging a proposal for membership to be made, which will be “supported by the UCP, through a letter of recommendation.”
At the end of the signing of the memorandum of understanding, the Rector of the Timorese Catholic University, Friar Joel Casimiro Pinto, thanked “the UCP, for its collaboration in this effort to serve Humanity”, recalling that the Timorese university, “is no longer a university. It's Catholic."
The Rector, who visited the UCP accompanied by the Pro-Rector for Research and Post-Graduation, João Câncio Freitas, also mentioned that this Timorese institution “is committed to qualified education, with Portuguese and English as official languages.”
This is yet another initiative by UCP, and by UCP Braga in particular, in the sense of signing cooperation protocols with other Higher Education institutions, starting with Portuguese-speaking countries around the world, in order to generate the desirable internationalization of institutions.
On the 28th of February, the directors of UCT, Prof. Doctor Casimiro Pinto, and the Vice-Rector, Prof. Doctor João Câncio Freitas, and from the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences of UCP Braga, Director, Prof. Doctor José Martins Lopes, and Doctor Cândido Oliveira Martins, met to deepen the possibilities of cooperation in terms of teaching and research between the two institutions.