The Portuguese Government revealed that the National Plan for Higher Education Accommodation in Portugal will benefit from an investment of 70 million euros, the main objective of which is to increase support for educational institutions university to meet the need for increased construction spending over the past year.
According to the government, adjustments to the Plan for Recovery and Resilience (PRR) have helped increase the student housing construction and renovation budget from an initial amount of 447 million euros to a new total of 517.4 million euros.
Furthermore, due to the reconfiguration of the RRP, the “Impulso Mais Digital” initiative is expected to start with a total budget of 105 million euros.
This investment is dedicated to improving various areas of education.
More specifically, 15 million euros are allocated for the reform and modernization of agricultural science and 30 million euros for medicine.
In addition, 20 million euros aim to promote the development of digital skills, with the main objective of strengthening digital skills training capacity, including in non-CTEAM sectors.
Following this trend, 20 million euros will be dedicated to promoting innovation and modernization of education, with the main objective of promoting educational innovation with a strong digital component, focusing on the areas non-technology fields, including social sciences, humanities and arts.
An additional €20 million will be used to fund a program to promote success and reduce dropout rates in higher education.
One of the primary goals of the College Dropout Reduction Program is to reduce the average first-year dropout rate from 24% (2021/2022 average rate) to 22 %.
Furthermore, these initiatives are complemented by the strengthening of the “Impulsos Jovens STEAM” and “Adultos” programs, to the amount of 15 million euros.
This additional funding is in addition to the €252 million already underway.
The overarching goal is to promote higher education and skill development of youth in the fields of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM), as well as facilitate transformation and updating the skills of working adults.
In this way, combined efforts will aim to build a comprehensive education system that promotes learning and development among young people while enabling adults to adapt and improve their skills.
These measures aim to promote a dynamic and comprehensive approach to education and skills development for different age groups and professional fields.
In the context of the country's higher education system, it was reported last month that the number of students studying higher education in Portugal reached 446,028 for the 2022/2023 academic year, reaching a historic record and highlights Portugal's commitment to excellence in education.