The University of Missouri - Kansas City visits Porto City Hall

The thing that shocked Michael Baum, when he was appointed FLAD's Executive Board Member by the American Embassy back in 2014, was the number of American students in Portugal: a little over 200 students countrywide, whereas in Spain there are 28 thousand American students per year. That is the reason why he decided to develop the "Study in Portugal Network" project, to show that Portugal is clearly a magnet country for North Americans, for reasons such as safety, cost of living, English taught classes and because Portugal is a country that is welcoming to foreigners.

This morning, a group of professors and students of the University of Missouri - Kansas City has visited Porto Town Hall, where they were welcomed by Mayor Rui Moreira, who got them acquainted with Portugal, in general, and the city of Porto, in particular.

Former US Ambassador, Allan J. Katz was also part of the American entourage that visited Porto in the context of the short term programe to Portugal, Study in Portugal Network" project, which is based in Lisbon.

Before meeting with the Mayor, professors and students were given a guided tour to the ancient Town Hall premises.

The "Study in Portugal Network - SiPN" project commenced in 2014, but the homestay of American students only began in 2015. It started with four Universities in Lisbon, "not because there was the idea of establishing in Lisbon" but because "the concept needed testing", explained Michael Baum.

"The project has developed a lot. It started in 2015 with 28 students and last year we had 340. I believe that the primary problem was marketing and the need to show American students that they don't need to be fluent in Portuguese to come and study in Portugal. We wish to extend our programmes to Porto, in a near future. We have held meetings with Universities in Porto, with Porto Polytechnic and the Catholic University of Porto and we were ready to sign the protocol and take this ambition forward. Unfortunately, this process was led in March 2018 and our mandate concludes soon. Our President [at FLAD] deemed best to wait until the next Administration takes office and decides what best suits the Foundation. This is the reason why this protocol has not been set up yet."

The University of Missouri - Kansas City is participating in a short term programe and will departure to the United States next Wednesday.

"I think it is FLAD's mission to build the bridges towards putting these "Study Abroad in Portugal" programes in the US radar", enthuses FLAD's Executive Board Member.

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