"Rio Maior has been facing this need for many years and has the particularity of being the city in the country with the largest number of students without accommodation. This problem has existed since 2016, long before it became a national problem", said the president of the Polytechnic Institute of Santarém, João Moutão, in statements to Lusa.

According to the official, the new residence will be aimed at students with the greatest financial needs, namely scholarship holders, who "in recent years have been more affected by the increase in housing prices".

The residence will be inaugurated on Thursday, as part of the celebrations of the 45th anniversary of the Polytechnic of Santarém.

Speaking to Lusa, João Moutão highlighted the "very significant growth in recent years" of the institution, considering that it has also "contributed to the economic and social development of the region".

"It has had a transformative impact, we currently have 5,000 students and the entities in our region benefit greatly from this. For example, in Rio Maior, in 1998, when the school opened, the population was quite old and it was a region with little development. Today, it has a community of 1,200 students who have brought economic development to that city", stressed the official.

In the agricultural school, he continued, there is still "a close relationship with the food industry", with the institution working "with many international companies, not only in the food industry, but also in the animal industry".

On the other hand, in recent years the polytechnic has managed to create a "student-centred teaching methodology" and develop teaching partnerships "with regional and international entities", he added, also highlighting the fact that the institution has a training model aligned with local needs, namely in the area of health and sport.

"One of the most prominent areas in Santarém is the health area. In this region, in addition to the district hospital, we also have several private hospitals, and the higher school of health has been a training centre for these new health units. In the area of sport, we return very important activities for people with diabetes and for people with a series of pathologies and this benefits the population", said the president of the Polytechnic.

For the coming years, João Moutão pointed out as objectives "to consolidate the educational model centred on the student", to strengthen "international cooperation", to promote the transfer of knowledge" and "to give greater importance to doctorates"

"We have presented a proposal for a doctorate in the area of Agricultural Sciences and the Environment. We want to promote doctorate cycles and with that create a polytechnic diversity, from technical courses to doctorates", he added.

The Polytechnic Institute of Santarém was created on December 26, 1979 and is made up of five higher education schools: the Higher School of Management and Technology of Santarém, the Higher School of Sport of Rio Maior, the Higher School of Health, the Higher School of Agriculture and the Higher School of Education.

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