A protocol of collaboration has been signed between Yaşar University and the Portuguese Institute of Camoes to offer exchange programs for students of Yaşar University. The collaboration offers students an opportunity to get to know the Portuguese culture. Four students will be able to benefit from the program to attend summer courses on Portuguese Language and Culture.
Offering elective language courses of the Portuguese language -one of the world’s most spoken languages- for its students for ten years, Yaşar University renewed its protocol of collaboration with the Portuguese Institute of Camoes.
The signing ceremony was held on the Selçuk Yaşar Campus and was attended by Portuguese Ambassador in Turkey Paula Leal da Silva, Yaşar University President of the Board of Trustees and Portuguese Honorary Consul in İzmir Ahmet Yiğitbaşı, Yaşar University Rector Prof. Cemali Dinçer, Cultural Attaché of the Embassy Tiago Paixao, as well as by representatives from the Embassy Tiago Filipe Fonseca Batista Gil and Guilherme Filipe Jesus Silva and Yaşar University Deputy Secretary General (PhD) Ali Galip Ayvat.
Addressing at the ceremony, Yaşar University President of the Board of Trustees and Portuguese Honorary Consul in İzmir Ahmet Yiğitbaşı highlighted the significant contributions of languages in reinforcing cultural bonds and said:
“We as Yaşar University have organized numerous events to introduce the Portuguese culture with the support offered by the Portuguese Embassy in Ankara. I recommend our students learn Portuguese as their second foreign language. Because I believer language is of greater contribution to reinforcing cultural bonds. I hope that our students will make the most of this protocol and further their knowledge of the Portuguese language and culture. I would like to thank Ms. Ambassador for her presence today.”
Portuguese Ambassador Paula Leal da Silva expressed that she is pleased to maintain their collaboration with Yaşar University. Thanking Ahmet Yiğitbaşı and Rector Prof. Cemali Dinçer for their contributions, the Portuguese Ambassador said, “We are conducting an extensive collaboration thanks to the protocol. I would like to present your library with some books of Portuguese culture and literature as a sign of appreciation for our bonds with Yaşar University. I hope that we will continue collaborating.”
Rector Prof. Cemali Dinçer also noted, “The protocol that we signed with the Portuguese Institute of Camoes in 2017 has had great contributions to making the Portuguese culture known by students at Yaşar University. I am pleased that we have renewed this protocol. Therefore, I would like to share some figures of what we have done as part of the protocol signed. Apart from the English language that is the medium of instruction, we also offer courses of seven foreign languages including Portuguese. A number of 175 students have benefitted from the Portuguese language courses since 2010. I am sure this number will be higher in years to come. Furthermore, 4 students have benefitted from the program offered as part of the collaboration protocol since 2017. Two of these students studied at the University of Coimbra, one at the University of Porto, and one at the University of Lisbon.”