Ciências ULisboa joins a new Consortium of Science Schools to strengthen national cooperation

The Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (Ciências ULisboa) is one of the founding institutions of the new Consortium of Science Schools (CEC), a national network bringing together ten Portuguese public universities to strengthen cooperation in teaching, research, innovation and science communication.

The protocol establishing the Consortium was signed on 24 July at the Rector’s Office of the University of Minho, bringing together representatives from the universities of the Azores, the Algarve, Aveiro, Beira Interior, Évora, Lisbon, Madeira, Minho, Porto and Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro. For the first two years, the CEC’s headquarters will be based at the School of Sciences of the University of Minho, under the chairmanship of its director, José Manuel González-Méijome.

The creation of the Consortium aims to strengthen coordination between higher education institutions active in the fields of exact and natural sciences, promoting coordinated action in strategic areas such as scientific training, research, innovation, science communication and the definition of public policies for the sector.

For the Faculty Dean of Ciências ULisboa, Professor Conceição Freitas, “the major scientific questions and the challenges facing society increasingly require answers developed through collaboration. Ciências ULisboa’s participation in this Consortium reflects this commitment to networking, fostering the sharing of knowledge, innovation and a stronger role for the fundamental sciences as a driving force behind the country’s development”.

Among the priorities of the new network are the development of joint projects, the sharing of best practice, the strengthening of scientific and educational cooperation between institutions, and the promotion of science amongst young people, helping to encourage scientific careers and respond to the challenges posed by society’s growing technological transformation.