Having recently been appointed as Director General for Higher Education, I am very pleased to accept the request made to me by the staff responsible for the Newsletter of the Unit for Recognition, Mobility and International Cooperation, allowing me to briefly share the strategic objectives of Directorate General for Higher Education (DGES) regarding internationalization and the challenges that it poses.
The Directorate General for Higher Education is responsible for ensuring the design, implementation and the coordination of policies which, in the frame of higher education within the competencies of the Ministry of Education and Science. In this context, it pursues a series of tasks which, in the specific case of the international strand, ensure the international relations and cooperation in the field of higher education.
The strategic objectives of the Directorate General for the year 2015 include: (i) optimize and streamline processes and procedures in the provision of services to students, institutions and the general public, (ii) ensure quality, efficiency and effectiveness in the services provided and (iii) promote networking with stakeholders and implementing collaborative models service evolution.
My words in relation to internationalization, grounded in my experience as a university professor, researcher and rector, are of optimism and encouragement, regarding the new challenges and opportunities that have aroused for higher education.
Optimism and encouragement reinforced by the contents of the report "A Strategy for the Portuguese Higher Education Internationalization", prepared by an interministerial working group and which was recently available for public discussion.
This report reinforces the importance of some cross-cutting initiatives, such as the approval of international student statute, as well as measures already taken by the higher education institutions, individually or together.
In this document goals and recommendations are defined to be included in the internationalization strategies of which I highlight the collaboration between institutions, namely through consortia, the mobility of students, academics and staff and the international promotion of the educational offer.
João Queiroz, PhD
Director General
