Corticeira Amorim will finance six scholarships, covering 100% of the tuition fees for Forestry Engineering BSc degrees at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro and University of Porto (UTAD and UP), the Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA) or the Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra (ESAC). The company thereby aims to stimulate the interest of potential students in an area that assumes increasing strategic importance for Portugal.
This will help increase the availability of forestry specialists, in order to respond to growing demand in the labour market.
This is an unprecedented public-private partnership, which also includes the participation of three other Portuguese companies- Altri (the leader in the renewable production of pulp for paper), Sonae Arauco (producer of wood-based panels) and The Navigator Company (paper manufacturer and retailer). The 22 scholarships, fully supported by the four companies, constitute a concrete example of the multiple synergies generated from the necessary interconnection between the academic and business worlds.
Corticeira Amorim has a strong track record in this field, based on its long-term relationships with various centres of knowledge (scientific institutions, interface institutes, technological poles, universities, laboratories, etc.). Especially because the issue of international competitiveness also derives from the ability to valorise knowledge economically.
This is complemented by the rising importance of social responsibility, which constitutes a fundamental pillar to ensure a more balanced, equitable and just society, and corresponds to the vital principle of «giving back», which now lso guides the goals of the business community.
The four companies will be responsible for funding scholarships for Forestry Engineering and Biotechnology courses at UTAD/UP, and Forestry and Natural Resources Engineering courses at the Instituto Superior de Agronomia, or Forestry Sciences and Natural Resources courses at the Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra.
