UMinhoExec - the University of Minho's Executive Education School - will have its own home in the heart of Braga, in the historic Castle Building. Next Friday, October 24, at 10:00 a.m., the “first tile laying ceremony” for the building's renovation will take place. This emblematic project has an investment of nine million euros, five of which are financed by the Portugal 2030 Program, through the Northern Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR-N), and the rest by the Braga City Council (CMB) and 20 companies and institutions associated with UMinhoExec.
The ceremony will feature speeches by the president of CCDR-N, António Cunha, the president of CMB, Ricardo Rio, the rector of UMinho, Rui Vieira de Castro, the president of the UMinho School of Economics, Management, and Political Science (EEG), Luís Aguiar-Conraria, as well as Professor André Fontes, from the UMinho School of Architecture, Art, and Design, and Graça Coelho, CEO of the Cachapuz Bilanciai Group.
The event will also be attended by representatives of the 20 founding members of UMinhoExec: Torrestir, dst group, Bragalux, Onires, IBG Europe, Mecwide, SC Braga, Grupo Casais, Officetotal Food Brands, Banco Carregosa, Grupo Erre, Impetus, Navarra, HUB7, Ordem dos Contabilistas Certificados, Petrotec, PwC, Silsa Confecções, Cachapuz, and NBKS Digital Services.
This renovation symbolizes the reconnection between knowledge, economy, and territory, transforming a vacant building into a training and innovation center and changing the nature of UMinhoExec, opening it up to private sector participation. Located where the city's medieval castle once stood, the Castle Building housed the Braga Industrial School, the Alberto Sampaio Secondary School, and later, services of UMinho, the local authority, and Estradas de Portugal.
Created in 2014, UMinhoExec has more than 6,000 graduates and 160 programs in the areas of Management, Human Resources, Public Management and Administration, Public Procurement, Marketing, Strategy, among others, in addition to tailor-made postgraduate courses for prestigious institutions such as Caixa Geral de Depósitos, the Social Security Institute, and the Tax Authority, as well as business/institutional consulting projects. Its activity has had a direct impact on the qualification of senior staff and managers in the region and the country. Its new home will bring higher education closer to the business world and the challenges of the contemporary economy, while emphasizing innovation, hybrid training, technology labs, and attracting talent.
