End, once and for all, with the liabilities of the Academic Association of UAlg and start a scholarship program, which allows to help one student from each of the organic units of the University of Algarve. These are the major goals assumed by Pedro Ornelas for the term at the head of the entity that represents the students of the Algarve university, for which he took office on Monday, January 8th.
Yesterday, Pedro Ornelas and the others elected to bodies of the Academic Association of the University of Algarve (AAUAlg) took office in a ceremony that took place in the Grand Auditorium of the institution's Gambelas Campus, in Faro. A moment to welcome new protagonists, but it also served as an emotional farewell to Rodrigo Teixeira, who was president of Académica algarvia for the past two years.
During his inaugural speech, Pedro Ornelas had already made it clear that his priority would be the social area – it was, moreover, the main banner of his campaign. On the sidelines of the session, he explained to the Sul Informação and to Rádio Universitária do Algarve RUA FM that the intention of the new General Directorate of AAUAlg is to create grants to support their colleagues with greater financial difficulties.
“We, as a social tool for UAlg students, also have a responsibility to give them something they need. Students with greater financial difficulties will be helped by AAUAlg. The idea is to award a scholarship for each organic unit», revealed Pedro Ornelas.
Scholarships will always be awarded "to the first colleague to be left out" on the official lists of access to social support that are already awarded by the General Directorate of Higher Education and by the University's Social Action Services, with the help of which the new president of AAUAlg counts.
Another major objective assumed by Pedro Ornelas is to eliminate AAUAlg's liabilities. This association, which is also a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME), has been undergoing financial restructuring for six years, after reaching a point where its debts exceeded 800 thousand euros.
Since then, successive directors have made cuts, altered the structure of the association – closed services, others were reformulated and employees left – and negotiated debts. This allowed, as revealed by the outgoing AAUAlg president, "to reduce the debt by 85%". «Pedro Ornelas has the conditions to pay off, once and for all, the association's liabilities», believes Rodrigo Teixeira.
Pedro Ornelas, who in the previous general management held the position of treasurer, also believes that it is possible to end all debts by mid-2018.
“We expect it to happen, everything indicates that it is possible and we are going to work towards it. We have the payment plans agreed with the companies and we are going to honor them, so that the end of liabilities is a reality in the middle of this year. At this moment, there is still a debt of 120 to 140 thousand euros to be paid”, according to Pedro Ornelas.
At the inauguration ceremony of the governing bodies of the AAUAlg, the students also received a guarantee from the mayor of Faro Rogério Bacalhau that the municipality, in articulation with the UAlg and other entities, is striving «to guarantee accommodation solutions for university students at the campuses».
A measure that Pedro Ornelas applauds and for which he promises to make his contribution. “We want a support plan for student accommodation to be created. There are several paths that can be followed, such as fiscal support for landlords or increasing housing grants. It will be up to the cameras and the tutelage to decide which will be the best path», he considered.
Pedro Ornelas takes office a few weeks after Paulo Águas began his term as UAlg's rector. But while they are both new to their roles, they do have a history of working together.
As the new president of AAUAlg made a point of remembering, he collaborated with the then vice-rector in the organization of the Algarve Careers Fair – Pedro Ornelas belonged to the two previous General Directions of the Academic Association. This leads him to believe that he will have no problems in his relationship with the rectory.
This does not mean, as emphasized by Paulo Águas, that everything is pink. "We won't always have the same opinions, but that won't stop us from working together," explained the dean, who promised "to be present" for the students.
At the time of farewell, where there was no lack of tears or laughter, the outgoing president of AAUAlg took the opportunity to leave a message to his successor Pedro Ornelas. «You will certainly be a leader for this academy, which will do everything for the benefit of the University of the Algarve», predicted Rodrigo Teixeira.
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