Élio Vicente was 15 years old the first time he set foot on the University of Algarve's Gambelas Campus. At the time, Zoomarine Park's Director of External Relations and Rehabilitation Center had «the privilege» of seeing the first stones laid for the construction of the buildings of what would become his home, where he graduated and continues to return.
Yesterday, Saturday, he was again at UAlg, to award an excellence scholarship in the name of his company to a student of the Marine Biology course, in an official ceremony that took place in the large auditorium of this Higher Education Institution.
This initiative brought together the awarded students, their families and friends, businessmen and members of the academy, including the top representative of UAlg, the dean António Branco. The “stars” were, as the dean pointed out, the students, who through their personal effort achieved respectable secondary school grades, and the businessmen, who knew how to recognize this dedication, opening their purse strings.
In some cases, input averages are truly impressive. This is the case of Inês Diogo, the student who had the highest average of new students who entered the first year, for the first time, at the University of Algarve.
The average 18,78 of the young UAlg student would allow her to enter any course she wanted. But despite being from Póvoa de Santa Iria, near Lisbon, Inês Diogo had no doubts in choosing the University of Algarve and the Marine Biology course to continue her studies.
«This was the only course, it was exactly what I wanted. It's what I like and the University of Algarve is the only one that has it. I had already defined this goal», said the young UAlg student to Sul Informação, on the sidelines of the session.
Unlike Élio Vicente, from the hands of those who received the scholarship of excellence, Inês Diogo did not have the opportunity to visit the University where she would study before applying for it. Only last summer did he set foot on the Algarve capital for the first time, “to see how things were”. But he did not apply “blindly”.
“I spoke with some people, including former students and made contacts. By chance, there were even my relatives and other people from my area who are here studying Biology and that my parents knew, who helped me», he said.
On the other side of this happy equation are entrepreneurs. Among those present at yesterday's session, representing the 33 companies that offered to pay a year of tuition fees to the 38 first-year students who entered the University of Algarve in 2015/16 with the highest average, were many alumni. algarvian gym.
There were also renowned entrepreneurs from the Algarve who, although they did not study at UAlg, know the university well and have been benefiting, over the years, from the training provided here.
One of them is Cláudio Correia, founder and director of Algardata, who has been seeking many of his staff from the Algarve university. The businessman, who has long made the Algarve his region, was chosen to represent the other grant providers at yesterday's ceremony, with a speech, and made a point of emphasizing how much UAlg has already given to his company.
«At Algardata, 36 of our employees, 51 percent of the total number of employees, have a university degree and 29 were trained here. We have no doubts about the importance that UAlg has for the region», stated the businessman. An idea that was repeated during the informal lunch that followed the ceremony by Reinaldo Teixeira, administrator of Garvetur, who assures that almost all the heads of the group are “made in” UAlg.
Already Élio Vicente, who spoke with the Sul Informação on the sidelines of the session, he recalled that he himself is “a son of this house”, of which he is “more and more proud”. “These grants didn't exist when I was here and it's good to see that we, as a society, continue to progress”, he considered. And he doesn't hide the satisfaction of contributing to the evolution of UAlg, now, «on the other side of the mirror».
«I have the personal and professional honor of having seen the first stones of the University being laid. Hence, it is with great emotion that I see the evolution that the institution has known in these 30 years. He grew physically, but also in terms of civic awareness, because for many of these young people, having this opportunity to go on stage, having the dean, businessmen and some teachers congratulate them, is a fabulous fuel for them not to give up on a stage that will be very difficult», he considered.
The Zoomarine representative is also well aware of the social value these grants can have. A year ago, Élio Vicente met for the first time Ana Rita, a student who received the scholarship from this Algarve company in the 2014/15 school year and left a poignant testimony in her speech.
«Ana Rita was the student who entered the University of Algarve with the highest average and entered the Marine Biology course, which is the scholarship that Zoomarine awards every year. And he made a speech that was absolutely overwhelming, not only for its literary quality, but for its emotional and social charge. Because, as she explained, her parents were unemployed and this scholarship was particularly important, as she had even considered not starting her academic life, due to the lack of conditions to live outside her family, which is from Fatima», she recalled.
Élio Vicente became interested in the case of this student and, on the same day, spoke with the dean of UAlg António Branco and the director of the course, in order to find a way to prevent an excellent student from dropping out of study, due to lack of financial conditions.
«We at Zoomarine thought: if the student is so good and has demonstrated such strong communication and academic skills, why not give her a scholarship for the rest of the course, instead of just for the first year? And that was what was decided: to continue to give, every year, the scholarship to the student who enters with the best grade in the Marine Biology course, but also to continue to support Ana Rita, as long as she maintains the levels of academic excellence». explained.
This assessment is carried out by the organic unit of the Marine Biology course, the Faculty of Science and Technology, and transmitted to Zoomarine. “We are waiting for the FCT to tell us how the first year went”, added Élio Vicente.
However, the student in question has already had the opportunity to work, during the summer, at Zoomarine, another way that the Algarve company has found to give support, accompanied by experience for the future, to Ana Rita.
This was a case that stood out, among the 149 students that the UAlg Excellence Scholarships have already supported, in the four years of existence 
of this joint project of the university and companies, but it is not the only one in which the scholarship was given to an excellent student whose family is facing financial difficulties.
This dimension of scholarships of excellence, which allow good students with greater financial difficulties to continue their academic path, is one of the reasons that leads the dean of UAlg António Branco to consider that yesterday's ceremony, Saturday, is one of the most important of the year, for the institution.
«This session is, from a symbolic point of view, the recognition of the importance of education and knowledge for our society», illustrated António Branco. It is also proof that the university and companies are capable of working together, despite the fact that the distance between these two worlds is often pointed out. «Alone, we achieve very little. With each other, we will go further and further», defended the dean of UAlg.
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