The elections for the rectory of the University of Algarve will take place on November 27 and there are three candidates for the position, all of them professors at the house: Adelino Canário, António Branco and Efigénio Rebelo.
O Sul Informação and Rádio Universitária do Algarve RUA FM (102.7 FM) interviewed the three candidates, in conversations that anticipate the public hearings taking place on 26 November. Our newspaper will launch an article per interview, the first of which this one, with Adelino Canário. Tomorrow, Friday, in the morning, it will be time to present the ideas of António Branco and in the afternoon, of Efigénio Rebelo. The pieces are released in the order chosen for the public hearing.
Adelino Canário: Research can give the university more income
Increase the sources and amounts of funding for the University of Algarve, improve the internal organization, strengthening the sharing of infrastructure and resources between research units and centres, encourage students to take advantage of the Erasmus program, diversify the training offer, with greater focus on supply complementary to the 1st cycle and foster the financial autonomy of the Organic Units.
These are some of the proposals that Adelino Canário presents in his action program and with which he wants to convince the members of the General Council to bet on him to lead UAlg for the next four years.
«The University of Algarve has to give a high qualification. For various reasons, the institution has not progressed in recent years as we would have liked it to have progressed. For several reasons. I have a positive view of the University of Algarve, so I think we can do much better», considered Adelino Canário. This is, moreover, the logic behind the motto he chose for his candidacy: «Open the Doors to the Future»
And the future will always have to go through solving the well-known financial problems of the Algarve public university.
“I don't think there is a single solution, we have to go through several paths. The financial issue, which I think is closely linked to the country's situation, is temporary. However, we have possibilities to open the range of financing or, at least, to reinforce the existing ones», he considered.
Adelino Canário defends, for example, that UAlg “can be much more efficient in getting money from the European Commission to finance scientific projects”. But “it is necessary to assemble the necessary machine for the complexity of these projects”. Strengthening the provision of services to external entities is another path.
“As far as the short-term financial situation is concerned, I will have to know things in detail. I don't know the details of how the funds are used and whether certain areas can be restructured. I'm pretty sure so,” he said.
In order to encourage the different Organic Units to seek their own sources of income, the candidate for rector suggests greater financial autonomy for the Faculties and Schools, in the sense that they can «come to manage some of the funds they manage».
also in the pedagogical area there is money to be made. “We can take short courses, in addition to the normal ones, which can attract people from outside. We have a good level of research in certain areas, we have people of great international level here and we can use this front to attract young people,” he added. These courses “can be workshops or almost anything, including courses for companies”.
More training offer and better organization, thinking of students and teachers
It will be through complementary courses that the diversification of the training offer defended by Adelino Canário will pass. With regard to the “traditional” offer, which is very much associated with 1st cycle courses, licentiate degrees do not advocate their increase, “nor the permanent structuring of courses”.
With regard to students and attracting new students, the focus is on “efficiency”, which translates, in essence, into the “quality” of teaching. "This is so that students who need certain information, do not walk from one place to another", he said.
In addition to «saving money in every way», this is also a fundamental purpose for the ability to attract new UAlg students. “We, if we are recognized as being organized and having good quality teaching, students will tell others. And students are the main source of dissemination of the university», he considered.
Adelino Canário also wants to balance the balance between foreign students who arrive through the Erasmus program and those who graduated from UAlg who are looking for a temporary experience at universities in other countries.
This is because, in addition to the pedagogical added value, «the university does not earn money from students who come from abroad, who do not pay tuition fees», although it assumes expenses arising from their training. A greater balance between those who come and those who leave would offset this effect, he believes.
Adelino Canário also has proposals for teachers, one of which is to evaluate teachers “by objectives”. Something that doesn't have so much to do with the issue of performance, but with the organization of the structure.
“What I think is that people should say in advance: I want to do research in the next three years. Others might say: I'm not very research-oriented and prefer to teach. Because the system that is now in place is perfectly anachronistic, it is not intended to improve the university's efficiency," he explained.
Adelino Canário considers that the experience he has accumulated «may be useful to UAlg»
“What drives me to apply is the idea that I can be useful to UAlg. I've reached a certain age and a point in my career where we have to make some decisions about what we can best offer. I thought I could contribute, because I have already gained enough experience, not only nationally, but also internationally, that I think it could be useful».
Adelino Canário is a Full Professor at UAlg, who, in addition to a long career within the institution, is internationally recognized for his research work in the field of Marine Sciences. bodies of UAlg.
Note: The interview with Adelino Canário was originally aired on RUA FM yesterday, Wednesday, at 18:30 pm (just follow the link to hear it in full). Conversations with António Branco and Efigénio Rebelo can be heard at the same time, today and tomorrow. The interviews can be heard again in full on Saturday, from noon, on 102.7 FM or on RUA FM website. The interviews were conducted by Hugo Rodrigues and Pedro Duarte, director of RUA.
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