‘You are doing a truly impressive work in so many engineering fields.’ The words of Titta Maja-Luoto, Finland’s Ambassador to Portugal, summed up her first visit to Instituto Superior Técnico on 18 November. ‘Finland is also a country of engineers, so I thought this was a place I really had to visit and get to know. When I return home, I’m going to share all the amazing things you do at this University’, she added.
Throughout the morning, after being welcomed by Zita Martins, the Vice-president of Técnico for International Affairs, and Alexandra Moutinho, a professor and a researcher at Técnico, Titta Maja-Luoto had the opportunity to learn about some research projects at the Institute for Systems and Robotics (ISR-Lisboa), accompanied by Técnico professor Alexandre Bernardino, and some projects developed by students’ organisations, such as the RED and ATLAS projects, designed by the Aerospace Engineering Students’ Organisation (AeroTéc) and the Formula Student Técnico (FST Lisboa).
‘The aim [of this visit] was to find out a bit more about your training offer. My experience is that there is a growing interest in Portugal. Today [after the presentation by Zita Martins at the beginning of the morning] we learnt that the number of Finns coming here through the Erasmus programme has increased significantly. I think that’s the way forward: the sooner young people have this exposure to other cultures and other countries, the better it is for Europe,’ the Ambassador argued.
The morning began with a presentation by Zita Martins covering topics such as the training offer, research and the impact Técnico wants to have on society and the economy. In the end, Zita Martins shared the number of Finnish students currently studying at Técnico under European programmes (19) and Técnico students studying in Finland (6).
‘The visit of the Finnish Ambassador reinforced our institutional commitment to strengthening strategic partnerships and fostering international collaboration. This meeting provided a valuable opportunity to explore synergies, share good practices and present Instituto Superior Técnico as a global reference in Higher Education, in line with our strategic internationalisation objectives’, explains Zita Martins.
‘Young people in my country have already realised that the level of knowledge and the quality of teaching and expertise at Técnico is excellent. I think more Finnish students want to come here. At the moment, we have a huge number of students travelling from Spain to Finland. If the Spanish have already discovered Finland, now it’s time for the Portuguese to discover it too.’
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