The Government of the Azores will meet with the University of the Azores this week for the definition of some aspects concerning the Contract for Employment Creation to be signed between the Region and this Higher Education institution, announced the President of the Government today.

"The Government of the Azores is ready to move forward. The Regional Secretary for Education, Science and Culture will meet with the Dean this week in order to start working on the details of this partnership," said Vasco Cordeiro after an audience held in Ponta Delgada.

According to him, the contract with the University of the Azores comprises three key areas; the first concerns the improvement of information exchanged between the Government and the University in order to make this institution acquainted with the development options followed by the Regional Government in the future.

The second area is related to the transfer of the results arising from the research conducted by the University of the Azores to improve Azorean companies. In turn, the third aspect provides that, for every Euro the University makes in research activities, the Government will allocate one Euro, which may go up to a total amount of five to six million Euros annually.
 
"This Contract for Employment Creation and Economic Growth is a contract in which the Government demonstrates its availability to give something to the University in return for something the University gives to the Azores," added the President of the Government.

Vasco Cordeiro also stressed that this is not a way of duplicating investments as the funds allocated by the Government for research will not be duplicated.
After the meeting with the Dean of the University of the Azores, Vasco Cordeiro restated the purpose of maintaining a very close partnership with this institution.

Between 2008 and 2011, the partnership between the Region and the University of the Azores represented an overall investment of nearly 18 million Euros. The allocation of this amount accomplishes the goal of establishing a true partnership with this institution for the development of the Region.