The rector of Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Paulo Pereira, asked the Minister of Education, Science and Innovation for a hearing to discuss the situation of the Nova School of Business and Economics (Nova SBE), while rejecting any interference by the Rectory in the management of the faculty.
In a note released this Friday, March 27, the university guarantees that “there has never been any interference by the Rectory in the autonomy of Nova SBE or any other Organic Unit”, adding that this autonomy “has been fully respected in all its dimensions”.
The reaction comes in the wake of the headline in this Friday’s edition of Diário de Notícias, which reports on the intention of Nova SBE, led by Pedro Oliveira, to move forward with a formal request for separation from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, with the aim of gaining greater autonomy and strengthening its international competitiveness.
In the reaction sent to the media, the Rectory of Nova claims to have learned of this information “with surprise”, highlighting that it has not received to date “any formal request that allows the analysis of this matter by the competent bodies of the University”.
“NOVA therefore considers it inappropriate for a topic of this nature to be placed in public space without any prior institutional coordination”, he adds.
The dispute between the two parties has been intensifying and focuses, above all, on the issue of autonomy. Nova SBE advocates greater flexibility to compete with leading international schools, particularly in terms of hiring teachers, setting salaries and raising resources.
As DN writes in its daily edition this Friday, “over the years, several critical voices – among which the professor and founder of the Carcavelos Campus, Pedro Santa-Clara, stands out – have accused UNL of hindering the development of Nova SBE as an international reference school, by denying it an autonomy that they consider necessary to maintain its status as one of the best economics and finance schools in Europe and also in the world”.
The Rectory maintains that this autonomy was never in question.
The climate has worsened in recent months, particularly after the university’s decision to impose the use of names in Portuguese in its organic units. Nova SBE interpreted this measure as detrimental to its internationalization strategy and the consolidation of its global brand.
Among the scenarios under discussion for the future of Nova SBE, according to sources contacted by DN, would be a possible reinforced autonomy within the university, the creation of an independent public institution or a possible transition to the private sector.
This Friday, a Nova SBE source stated that “the issue of autonomy, or the degree of autonomy, has been debated for several decades inside and outside the University”, but rejected “any institutional divorce, much less leaving the public sphere”.
It will be up to the Government, and Minister Fernando Alexandre, to help find a solution. What is certain is that the new legal regime for higher education institutions has evolved to reinforce the autonomy and internationalization of institutions.
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