{"id":1118,"date":"2019-08-07T15:34:46","date_gmt":"2019-08-07T14:34:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oeirasvalley.com\/atlantica-a-aposta-na-formacao-pratica-e-de-excelencia-virada-para-as-necessidades-do-futuro\/"},"modified":"2019-10-03T17:33:40","modified_gmt":"2019-10-03T16:33:40","slug":"atlantica-a-aposta-na-formacao-pratica-e-de-excelencia-virada-para-as-necessidades-do-futuro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oeirasvalley.com\/en\/atlantica-a-aposta-na-formacao-pratica-e-de-excelencia-virada-para-as-necessidades-do-futuro\/","title":{"rendered":"Atl\u00e2ntica: The commitment to practical training of the highest standard, with a focus on the needs of the future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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It is in Barcarena, at the F\u00e1brica da P\u00f3lvora, that one of the most emblematic university hubs in Oeiras is housed: Escola Universit\u00e1ria Atl\u00e2ntica.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Founded in 1996, it was in 2014 that the University\ninvested in a repositioning strategy, focusing on new training areas (e.g.\naeronautical engineering, engineering materials and production systems\nengineering) and training with a very strong practical element, reflecting the\nreal concerns of the business world. At the same time, the University is\ninvesting in internationalisation and attracting international students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results of this new repositioning\nproject speak for themselves: the courses at Atl\u00e2ntica have an employability\nrate of more than 90%. Nat\u00e1lia Esp\u00edrito Santo, the Managing Director of\nUniversidade Atl\u00e2ntica, explains in an interview how the university has changed\nsince its creation and describes a few of its pathways for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe like to train people for the labour\nmarket. Universidade Atl\u00e2ntica has always been concerned about making sure our\ncourses are not just about putting \u201cpen to paper\u201d and has always been committed\nto very technical, very practical courses, with internships, high\npracticability courses so our students have a strong level of employability.\nAnd, fortunately, that has led to a 90% employability rate for all courses\u201d,\nasserts the Managing Director of Universidade Atl\u00e2ntica, going on to indicate\nthat some courses, like Nursing and Physiotherapy, have employability rates of\n100%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The beginning<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nat\u00e1lia Esp\u00edrito Santo has been at Universidade Atl\u00e2ntica since its creation in 1996. But even today, more than 20 years later, there are elements of the university that continue to surprise her. \u201cSometimes, I get here in the morning and there are hares, partridges and ducks at the front door\u201d, she recalls fondly. An uncommon phenomenon in urban locations, but it is a familiar and frequent sight for those studying or teaching at the university. This is because Universidade Atl\u00e2ntica is housed in the former F\u00e1brica da P\u00f3lvora (although renovated), nestled in huge gardens crossed by a stream. The atmosphere here is very different to other university campuses. Nat\u00e1lia Esp\u00edrito Santo explains why: \u201cProfessor Afonso de Barros was the first Chancellor of Universidade Atl\u00e2ntica and the idea was to create a university campus in the image of British campuses, with lots of green spaces. The campus was initially planned to be built in Cascais, but the Mayor at the time did not welcome this prospect. It was then that Dr. Isaltino Morais, not only welcomed, allocating the space at the former F\u00e1brica da P\u00f3lvora, but also gave the university its name\u201d, she explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so Universidade Atl\u00e2ntica was born, in the 1990s with just four courses: environmental management, urban land management, strategic management and information technology systems management. In 2001, Universidade Atl\u00e2ntica created Escola Superior de Sa\u00fade Atl\u00e2ntica, specialising in Health, currently offering courses in nursing; physiotherapy; nutrition sciences and osteopathy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crisis and rebirth of Universidade Atl\u00e2ntica<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The financial crisis that afflicted Portugal was also felt by the university. However, the 2014 arrival of a new investor into the Universidade Atl\u00e2ntica shareholder structure (Carbures, one of the main suppliers of Airbus and Boeing, and that currently forms part of Airtificial), paved the way for a new era at the university <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nat\u00e1lia Esp\u00edrito Santo (\u00e0 direita na imagem) \u00e9 a Diretora-Geral da Atl\u00e2ntica<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The arrival of Carbures into the university’s shareholder structure allowed the Spanish aeronautical firm to train its own staff, recruit highly qualified professionals and perform research on behalf of the company. Universidade Atl\u00e2ntica was also repositioned on the market, with the creation of new departments. The\u00a0core business<\/em>\u00a0now focused on\u00a0engineering, in particular aeronautical engineering, engineering materials; production systems engineering<\/a>, in particular for the aeronautics industry. \u201cWe became part of the Portuguese aeronautics cluster and part of international research projects in the field of aeronautics\u201d, asserts the Managing Director of Universidade Atl\u00e2ntica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And are professionals in these areas in demand? Nat\u00e1lia Esp\u00edrito Santo says this is definitely the case. \u201cIt’s an industry that is clearly expanding. Analysing the statistical data published by the AED (aeronautics cluster<\/em>), it can be seen that almost 15,000 aeronautical engineers and materials engineers will be needed by 2030. Thousands of pilots and cabin crew will be needed. And in Portugal, there are not enough professionals to satisfy this demand. Boeing itself says that it is unable to grow in Portugal in some sectors as there are not enough qualified professionals\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, training at Universidade Atl\u00e2ntica is not limited to this area. In addition to Engineering and the Health School, the university is also committed to innovative areas such as artificial intelligence,\u00a0data science, big data<\/em>\u00a0and cyber security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes Universidade Atl\u00e2ntica stand out?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the process to reposition the institution, Universidade Atl\u00e2ntica committed to a differentiating strategy, both in terms of areas of training and the approach to education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have a teaching staff that is very\nclose to our students and that follows, in addition to other methods, Project\nBased Learning and Problem Oriented Learning<\/em>. Our professors are\nacademic, but they also have connections to the business world. This means that\noften, they bring problems from the corporate world to Universidade Atl\u00e2ntica\nand students resolve them internally, learning as they do\u201d, explains Nat\u00e1lia\nEsp\u00edrito Santo, providing a number of examples. \u201cGalucho sent us around 12\nemployees to participate in refresher training. We ended up opening an evening\ncourse just for them.  It was this group that we created the 1st\nundergraduate class in engineering materials. The theses of this group were\nlinked to the company itself\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This approach, promoting a close relationship between academia and the corporate world is also catalysed by the fact that Universidade Atl\u00e2ntica is located within the\u00a0Oeiras Valley<\/a> ecosystem, close to business and technology parks like Lagoas Park and Taguspark. \u201cIn recent years, we have established a number of partnerships with firms and parks in the municipality, not just to promote Universidade Atl\u00e2ntica but also to establish synergies\u201d, reports the Institute’s Managing Director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The commitment to internationalisation is another distinguishing factor; the university has several partnerships in place with international institutions that helps attract international students to Barcarena. \u201cOn the Physiotherapy course, we have more than 100 French students and 60 Spanish students. We have 20 Italian students on the Marketing course and Engineering Materials We also have a student from Gambia and another from Tanzania studying for degrees in the IT Department. We have students from Hebron on the Master’s in ITSM, Brazilian students on the Master’s in Management, and many other students from Cape Verde and Angola\u201d, highlights Nat\u00e1lia Esp\u00edrito Santo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Future of Private Universities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Internationalisation is, in the words of the university’s Managing Director, a pathway for the future of private universities. \u201cIn five years, students will no longer occupy all spots at public universities\u201d. Therefore, to survive, the private sector will need to commit to niche areas and trends that private universities, on account of their more cumbersome structures, are unable to explore. \u201cThe future of private universities will be reliant on committing to niche training that is not available at public universities, committing to students aged over 23 (in terms of evening education, as not all public universities want to invest in this segment) and committing to international markets\u201d, asserts the Managing Director at Universidade Atl\u00e2ntica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Universidade Atl\u00e2ntica in numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n