Isabel Capeloa Gil, UCP Rector at “Transatlantic Economic and Trade Summit”

The focus on partnerships with universities in the US, as an international projection strategy, is part of a cycle of change implemented by Universidade Católica Portuguesa and will be extended in the coming years. 

The message was left by Dean Isabel Capeloa Gil at the "Transatlantic Economic and Trade Summit", organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Portugal, under the Portuguese presidency of the European Council. In a panel on "The relations between Portugal and the USA: a new roadmap", the dean of UCP highlighted "the change in the higher education system, provided by the program of major knowledge and innovation partnerships with North American universities".

Cooperation is the path to follow, added Isabel Capeloa Gil, but it must be "pursued together and without innocence", referring to the need to safeguard intellectual property.  The relationship between Universidade Católica Portuguesa and the US dates back to the university's foundation in 1967, with the construction of a national education model that was "free and autonomous, which sought to serve the country and the world with reputation and quality," she said.

Since then, according to the rector of Universidade Católica Portuguesa, "cooperation has been growing, giving rise to important partnerships, such as the MIT Portugal-Lisbon MBA programme, ranked among the best MBAs globally, and the CMU Portugal-Phd in Technology Change and Entrepreneurship programme". 

The reinforcement of the international projection of the university will continue to be a priority and it is based, in great part, on the "preparation of the entire organization to become competitive in the international recruitment of students, but also in the double degree program, in the knowledge partnerships and in the university-company transfer", said Isabel Capeloa Gil.

In this context, the dean of UCP highlighted several partnerships with recognized results, such as the partnership between the School of Biotechnology and the company Amyris Inc., which "led to the creation of a global project of 42 million euros with application in sectors as different as pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industry".

In addition to academic relations, the "Transatlantic Economic and Trade Summit" also discussed future prospects and opportunities for developing economic, investment and trade relations between Europe and the USA.