The investment in digitalisation that’s been going on in recent months consists of the acquisition of new equipment and the reinforcement of existing infrastructure following the Recovery and Resilience Plan through UBImpulso, Green and Sustainable Growth in a Digital World, UBI stated.

In order to re-equip University classrooms, a group of interactive screens have been installed, budgeted at 175 thousand euros, and 500 computers were acquired, with a value of around 380 thousand euros.

This equipment is currently in the process of installation in the various University spaces and can be used come the beginning of the 2023/2024 school year.

Besides these new computers, an international public contest was recently held in relation to the modernisation and reinforcement of the wireless network on campus.

“The reinforcement of the wi-fi network’s capacity, which costs around 290 thousand euros, will allow the increase in density and speed of connections within the University, assuring the best functioning of the institution’s infrastructures,” UBI explained.

Other investments in the process of evaluation are the international public contest which aims to acquire essential equipment for the creation of computation rooms destined for the implementation of new courses in STEAM areas at the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Health Sciences, the public contest for the reinforcement of IT equipment in the Arts and Physics departments, and the acquisition of servers for the department of Maths.

The total investment in these acquisitions surpasses 266 thousand euros.

The next school year will have new 1st cycle courses – Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, Computational Mechanical Engineering, Medicinal Chemistry, and Bioengineering – increasing the scholarships offered through the UBImpulso Jovens STEAM program at the National Contest of Access to Higher Education.

This program, financed through PRR with a total budget of around five million euros, intends to “increase interest in the younger generations in STEAM subjects and bring along the growth of student numbers in courses offered in these areas via high-quality teaching and a focus on digitalisation,” UBI added.

The idea also comes as a response to the needs of the adult population through the creation of training courses that allow the update and conversion of their skills.