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Universidade Católica Timorense

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Timorese Catholic University
Universidade Católica Timorense
Motto
Educare in veritate ad servire
Motto in English
"Educate in truth to serve"
TypePrivate university
Established8 December 2021;
2 years ago (2021-12-08)
AccreditationANAAA (pending)
Religious affiliation
Catholic Church
ChancellorVirgílio do Carmo da Silva
RectorJoel Casimiro Pinto
Academic staff
91 (2023)
Students1,700 (2024)
Location
Dili
,
East Timor
CampusUrban
Websiteuct.edu.tl

St. John Paul II Timorese Catholic University (UCT; Portuguese: Universidade Católica Timorense São João Paulo II; Tetum: Universidade Katólika Timorense) is a private Catholic university in Dili, East Timor. Inaugurated on 8 December 2021, the university admitted its first 491 students in March 2022 and has since grown to an enrollment of 1,700. The first Catholic university in East Timor, UCT operates under the Archdiocese of Dili with funding from the national government. The university is located at a campus in the Balide area of Dili.

UCT comprises four faculties—education, language, and arts; medical sciences; human sciences; and agricultural engineering—offering 22 undergraduate degree programs, with a future MBBS degree program planned. The university is selective, accepting 500 students each year from an applicant pool of over 1,500. UCT is a member of several international academic associations and has partnerships with a number of foreign universities.

History

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Establishing a Catholic university in East Timor was a longstanding goal of the Archdiocese of Dili, beginning during the tenure of Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo (1983–2002) and later under Bishop Alberto Ricardo da Silva (2004–2015).[1][2][3] On 16 July 2021, Archbishop Virgílio do Carmo da Silva, submitted an application to the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Culture to establish a university.[1][2] The new university, the archbishop said, would incorporate and expand upon the diocese's existing higher education institution, the Instituto de Ciências Religiosas (ICR).[1][2] A month later, on 13 August, da Silva met with Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak to discuss the process, after which the archbishop said he hoped the university could open later that year.[2]

On 3 December 2021, the Ministry of Higher Education granted the archdiocese an operational license, and three days later, on 6 December, Archbishop da Silva issued a decree establishing the new university.[4] The Universidade Católica Timorense São João Paulo II was inaugurated on 8 December by the archbishop and Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak at its campus in Dili's Balide neighborhood.[3][5][6][7] The university, Archbishop da Silva said, would "provide a world-class education in all areas of human activity, inspired by the Catholic intellectual, moral, and spiritual traditions."[3] The university was dedicated to Pope John Paul II, who visited East Timor in 1989 when the country was still under Indonesian rule and with whom, Ruak said, East Timor "shares a great bond of love and devotion."[3][5][7]

UCT opened its enrollment in February 2022, accepting 491 students for its first incoming class from a pool of roughly 2,000 applicants.[6] The university opened with four faculties—education, arts, and culture; health sciences; human sciences; and agricultural engineering—and 50 faculty, with plans to continue expanding.[3][5][6] Incoming students were required to complete a sixth-month course to learn Portuguese and English before beginning their regular studies.[3][5] UCT opened its academic year on 24 March 2022 with a ceremony attended by Archbishop da Silva, former president José Ramos-Horta, and Holy See representative Msgr. Marco Sprizzi.[6] At the ceremony, the university's first rector, Rev. Joel Casimiro Pinto said that UCT aimed "to be the premier university for scientific teaching and research in Timor-Leste."[6] The university opened the 2023 academic year on 15 March 2023 with a ceremony attended by President Ramos-Horta.[8]

The university grew to 1,200 students in 2023, and to 1,700 by 2024.[7] Each year, 500 new students are accepted from an application pool of over 1,500.[7]

Campus

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UCT's campus is located in Balide in eastern Dili, in a property formerly used by the Colégio de São José high school.[3][5] A statue of Pope John Paul II, the university's patron saint, stands at the entrance of the campus.[7]

Organization and administration

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UCT operates under the Archdiocese of Dili, and is financed through annual funding provided by the national government to the archdiocese, half of which is earmarked for educational purposes.[3][5][7] The titular leader of the university is the chancellor, an office held by the archbishop of Dili—currently Virgílio do Carmo da Silva.[9] The chief executive is the rector, currently the Franciscan friar Joel Casimiro Pinto since the university's founding in 2021.[9] The rector is assisted by a general administrator and four vice-rectors: of institutional and pastoral development; of postgraduate studies, research, and cooperation; of teaching and academic affairs; and of student support.[7][9] The rector's governance duties are supported by the university council and academic senate.[9]

The university is composed of four faculties—education, language, and arts; medical sciences; human sciences; and agricultural engineering—each led by a dean.[8][9] The faculty of medical sciences contains the university's medical, nursing, and pharmacy schools, each headed by a coordinator.[9] The agricultural engineering faculty comprises the schools of agrotechnology and animal husbandry, headed by a coordinator and director, respectively.[9] The faculty of education, language, and arts is divided into the school of education, the school of languages, and the Institute of Religious Sciences (ICR; Instituto de Ciências Religiosas), each headed by a director.[9] The ICR was previously an independent institution before being subsumed into the new UCT.[1][2] The faculty of human sciences is composed of the schools of law, social communication, social work, and business, each with its own director.[9] As of 2023, UCT has 91 academic faculty, mostly Timorese as well as a smaller number of international faculty.[8]

Academics

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UCT faculties and degrees[10]
Faculty Course
Medical Sciences General Medicine
Nursing
Pharmacy
Human Sciences General law
Accounting
Business Management
Social Communication
Social Work
Public Management
Education, Language, & Arts Teacher Training, Preschool & Basic Education 1st Cycle
Teacher Training, History & Geography
Teacher Training, Sociology & Economics
Teacher Training, Mathematics & Physics
Teacher Training, Biology & Chemistry
Teacher Training, Catholic Religion & Morality
Pastoral Theology & Catechesis
Portuguese Language & Literature
English Language & Literature
Music
Agricultural Engineering Agrotechnology
Animal Husbandry
Agribusiness

At the start of its first academic year in March 2022, UCT had four faculties—education, arts, and culture; health sciences; human sciences; and agricultural engineering—divided into 20 departments (some of which were still planned and not yet enrolling students).[3][5][6] As of the 2024 academic year, UCT comprises four faculties—education, language, and arts; medical sciences; human sciences; and agricultural engineering—offering 22 degree programs.[10] Each year, only 25 to 30 students are accepted for each program.[3][5]

Portuguese is the main teaching language at UCT.[3][5] At the time of the university's opening, students were required to complete a sixth-month course to learn Portuguese and English before beginning their regular studies.[3][5] As of 2023, incoming students are required to have at least an A2 level of Portuguese; if they test lower, they must take a year-long preparatory language course to achieve the minimal language before beginning their regular studies.[8]

International cooperation

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UCT is a member of the Management Forum of Higher Education in the Portuguese-Speaking Countries and Regions (FORGES) and the Association of Southeast and East Asian Catholic Colleges and Universities (ASEACCU), a regional affiliate of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU).[11] The university has agreements with the Catholic organizations AGIAMONDO and Fidesco International, based in Germany and France, respectively, which send volunteers to serve in roles requested by the university.[11] UCT also has an agreement with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).[11]

UCT has cooperation agreements related to teaching, research, and professional development with a number of universities, including the National University of East Timor as well as international institutions including the Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, the Australian Catholic University, the Catholic University of Mozambique, the Catholic University of Portugal, LSi Business School in Cambodia, the University of Brasília, the University of Minho in Portugal, the University of Saint Joseph in Macau, the Universitas Katolik Darma Cendika in Surabaya, and the Universitas Katolik Widya Mandira in Kupang.[6][11][12][13]

In April 2024, UCT signed a memorandum of understanding with IndoMed Educare, an Indian medical education consultancy, to establish an Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) program intended to attract students from India to the university.[11]

Student life

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The UCT Student Association (Portuguese: Associação Estudantil da UCT) organizes students activities and represents the student body within the university.[14]

Notable people

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Rectors

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  1. Rev. Joel Casimiro Pinto, OFM (2021–present)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Dagur, Ryan (2021-07-19). "Bid launched for Timor-Leste's first Catholic university". UCA News. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  2. ^ a b c d e Dagur, Ryan (2021-08-16). "Timor-Leste looks to open first Catholic university this year". UCA News. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Dagur, Ryan (2021-12-10). "Timor-Leste inaugurates first Catholic university". UCA News. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  4. ^ "Historia" [History]. Universidade Católica Timorense (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Poce, Anna (2021-12-12). "Timor Leste tem sua primeira Universidade católica" [Timor-Leste has its first Catholic university]. Vatican News (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Dagur, Ryan (2022-03-25). "Timor-Leste's Catholic university launches first courses". UCA News. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Affatato, Paolo (2024-09-11). "Universities, training institutes, seminaries: the Church is committed to the education of young people, the future of the nation". Agenzia Fides. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  8. ^ a b c d Rosário, Afonso do (2023-03-15). "Universidade Católica Timorense inicia ano letivo" [Timorese Catholic University begins academic year]. TATOLI Agência Noticiosa de Timor-Leste (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Estrutura" [Structure]. Universidade Católica Timorense (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  10. ^ a b "Universidade Católica Timorense". Universidade Católica Timorense (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Cooperação" [Cooperation]. Universidade Católica Timorense (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  12. ^ Maduca, Roger (2024-04-05). "Cooperação entre Universidades católicas de Moçambique e Timor" [Cooperation between Catholic universities of Mozambique and Timor]. Vatican News (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  13. ^ "UCP assina protocolo de colaboração com Universidade Católica Timorense" [UCP signs collaboration agreement with Timorese Catholic University]. Universidade Católica Portuguesa (in Portuguese). 2023-03-02. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  14. ^ "Associação Estudantil da Universidade Católica Timorense". Facebook. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
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