Portugal has granted approximately 2,700 scholarships to Mozambican students over the past 50 years, covering different levels of academic training, while 292 students were placed this year in Portuguese higher education institutions through a special access scheme.
The figures were released in Maputo during a meeting with new Mozambican scholarship recipients, held within the framework of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, according to the Lusa news agency. This year, 17 students were selected to attend undergraduate and postgraduate courses at Portuguese higher education institutions with support from the Camões Institute.
"The Portuguese state has already awarded approximately 2,700 scholarships to Mozambican students," said Portugal's ambassador to Maputo, Jorge Monteiro, referring to the five decades since Mozambique's independence.
According to the diplomat, the scholarships have covered undergraduate degrees, master's programmes, doctorates, and post-doctoral research in areas considered relevant to Mozambique's development.
Of the 17 new scholarship recipients this year, eight will attend undergraduate programmes and nine will pursue master's degrees, of which seven are in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. The students come from the provinces of Maputo, Nampula, Niassa and Sofala and are scheduled to depart for Portugal on 28 September.
"This year we had 17 scholarship holders who will benefit from Camões Institute grants, of whom eight will attend undergraduate programmes in Portugal and nine will attend master's programmes," said Jorge Monteiro.
Among the institutions that will host the students are Universidade Nova de Lisboa, ISCTE, Universidade da Beira Interior, Universidade do Minho, Universidade do Algarve and Universidade de Évora.
More Than One Thousand Applicants
In addition to scholarships awarded through the Camões Institute, Mozambican students' access to Portuguese higher education also includes a special access scheme.
"This year we had 17 scholarship holders who will benefit from Camões Institute grants, of whom eight will attend undergraduate programmes in Portugal and nine will attend master's programmes." — Jorge Monteiro
The director-general of the Scholarship Institute (IBE), Carla Coamba, revealed that this year 292 students had been placed "at the national level, out of more than one thousand applicants we received," she said.
She added that more than 187 students are expected to travel to Portugal for technical and vocational training, under the framework of training opportunities available to Mozambican students.
Training Aligned With the Country's Needs
Among the new scholarship holders is Felizardo Marques, a native of Nampula, who will pursue a master's degree in Medical Parasitology at the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine at Universidade Nova de Lisboa.
With approximately three years of experience teaching at the technical and vocational level and as a teaching assistant at Universidade Lúrio, the student intends to use the training to strengthen knowledge related to the diagnosis, epidemiological surveillance and prevention of endemic and neglected diseases.
"The objective is to strengthen Mozambique's capacity in terms of diagnosis, epidemiological surveillance and prevention of endemic and neglected diseases," he explained, pointing to the application of the knowledge acquired in the areas of malaria and parasitic infections.
"We have placed, at the national level, around 292 students, out of more than one thousand applicants we received this year." — Carla Coamba
Another scholarship recipient is Xabuca Santos António, a pharmacist who graduated from Universidade Lúrio in Nampula, who will attend the master's programme in Biotechnology at Universidade da Beira Interior in Covilhã.
The student, who began his professional career in 2022 in pharmaceutical management, intends to deepen his knowledge in biotechnology with applications in agriculture and health.
Among his research interests is the study of plants found in Mozambique to identify molecules with pharmaceutical potential, as well as the development of solutions for drought-resistant crops.
Portuguese cooperation also includes scholarships for students at Mozambican institutions and at the Portuguese School of Mozambique, in addition to support for student access to higher education in Portugal.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/?p=546083
