The rector of the University of Minho, Rui Vieira de Castro, handed over the University of Minho flag to the Mayor of Vila Nova de Famalicão, Paulo Cunha, on October 27th, in a gesture full of symbolism that marks the University’s presence in Famalicão. “With this gesture we are not exactly wanting to mark territory”, said the rector in a joking tone, “but we are demonstrating our intention and our ambition to consolidate the University of Minho in this territory through a project with future”.
Paulo Cunha visited, this Tuesday, the Research Centre of the University of Minho, created about a year ago at CIIES (Centro de Investigação e Inovação e Ensino Superior de Famalicão), in Vale S. Cosme. Accompanied by Rui Vieira de Castro, Paulo Cunha learned about the work developed in the two laboratories that already work in the structure and about the projects for the future.
At this moment, the University of Minho has already invested more than one million euros in equipment to equip the Food Biotechnology and MicroNano Manufacturing laboratories. According to the Dean, besides the equipment, “the University will bring to the municipality in the short term about 30 researchers and, by extension, PhD and Master students and other researchers who will do their studies here”.
“It is a significant number, which will always tend to increase as a result of the enlargement of our activity here”, said Rui Vieira de Castro, who did not hide his ambition to create in Vila Nova de Famalicão “a true pole of the University of Minho”. “We have created here these two units installed, but our perspective is much more ambitious. Truly what we hope is to build the idea of a multipolar university, with a stronger presence in Famalicão”.
The Rector also referred to the business environment that exists in the municipality, pointing out that “this is an extremely favourable context for the university so that it can materialize some of its dimensions of activity. Famalicão is a strong bet”.
Satisfied with the intentions of the University of Minho for the municipality, the mayor said that “Famalicão is today a strongly industrialised municipality and is the epicentre of large companies, gathering an enormous potential, to affirm itself in the national and international context through partnerships, such as this one with the University of Minho”.
He also stressed the importance of “the environment conducive to knowledge sharing and innovation”, given the proximity of these structures to TECMEAT, the Agrifood Competence Centre, which is also based at CIIES, as well as to a number of companies and entities linked to agrifood. “We have gathered here the essential conditions for the result to be what we aspire to”, said Paulo Cunha, giving an account of the municipality’s bet in the Meat sector.
Source: Câmara Municipal de Famalicão
