Nova School of Business and Economics (Nova SBE) has received today the financial support of the European Investment Bank (EIB) under the Investment Plan for Europe for the design and construction of a new campus in Carcavelos. In an event in Carcavelos attended by the EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, EIB Vice-President Román Escolano, the Dean of Nova SBE, Daniel Traça, and the President of the Fundação Alfredo de Sousa, Pedro Santa Clara, a EUR 16 million loan agreement was signed, guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the core of the Investment Plan for Europe.

The construction of the new campus in Carcavelos, with a size of 84,000 m², was launched in 2016 and the site is expected to be fully operational at the beginning of the 2018-2019 academic year. These new facilities will be able to receive 3,200 students, 700 more than the existing campus in Campolide in Lisbon. The EIB-supported project also aims to create the necessary conditions for an academic, professional and social ambience that preserves the contacts within the community of Nova SBE’s current and former students.

The financial support of the EIB, the EU bank, will also contribute to increasing Nova SBE’s investments in education, research and innovation aimed at adopting new teaching methods based on individual and interactive learning.

EIB Vice-President Román Escolano underlined the “positive impact of this EIB loan in terms of not only increasing the size of the Nova SBE campus but also improving the teaching and research capabilities of one of the most important educational institutions in the European Union. This EIB financing also demonstrates the strong commitment of the European Investment Bank, supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments, to facilitating investments and new opportunities for the Portuguese economy.’’

Carlos Moedas, Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, said: "This agreement clearly demonstrates that the EFSI has become an additional source of funding for maintaining the excellence of European universities and research centres, alongside the Horizon 2020 programme and the European Structural and Investment Funds. Investments in education, research and innovation are paving the way for growth and competitiveness. I trust that these excellent new facilities will be one incubator of the next generation of outstanding business leaders in Portugal and I am proud to see that the EU is helping for that purpose."

Daniel Traça, Dean of Nova SBE, underlined the importance of internationalising the institution: “We are leveraging globalisation, attracting foreign students, enterprises and teachers, creating on our campus an open and diversified space for dialogue and debate.”

In the academic year 2017/2018 alone, some 600 new Master’s students with 40 different nationalities, including 98 Germans and 50 Italians, entered the school. Hence Nova SBE’s goal is to continue growing over the next five years. Daniel Traça ended by saying that “We believe that our role is defined by the impact generated by the community, the fruit of Europe’s spirit of openness towards the rest of the world”.

Pedro Santa Clara, President of the Fundação Alfredo de Sousa, explained that this teaching institution is working with over 20 multinational companies to train executives and is seeking to attract even more. “We have two major assets: Nova SBE’s top-flight academic quality and the excellent location of the new campus”, he stressed.