Government of Timor-Leste

On November 14^th, 2024, the Minister for Higher Education, Science and Culture (MESCC), accompanied by the Coordinator of the Coordinating Committee for Universities and Higher Institutes (CUIS – acronym in Portuguese), Edmundo Viegas, and technicians from the ministry and CUIS, welcomed a delegation from the University of Minho, Portugal, to the meeting room of his office – the meeting aimed to discuss future partnerships in the field of higher education. 

The meeting with the delegation from the University of Minho made up of Rector Rui Vieira de Castro and the Vice-Rector for Organisational Transformation and Administrative Simplification, Luís Amaral, aimed to discuss the cooperation to be established between this Portuguese university and the ministry through CUIS. The priority of the discussion centred on areas such as teacher training, which CUIS has defined as one of its main collective strategies for raising the quality of the higher education sector. This strategy includes partnerships with national and international universities and institutions to promote this training programme. 

Another topic highlighted was the role of the doctoral school as an instrument for developing the skills of teachers and researchers, especially in teaching, research and scientific publication. The need to improve the qualification levels of the teaching staff was emphasised, promoting progression from categories currently assessed as ‘Sufficient’ to higher levels such as ‘Very Good’ and ‘Excellent’.