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diretor’s MESsage
Paulo Ferrinho
In 2015, I began my second term as Di-
rector of the IHMT. I kept as deputy direc-
tors the Professors Zulmira Hartz (Knowl-
edge Management and Communication)
and Henrique Silveira (Research), I invited
Professor Maria do Rosário Oliveira Mar-
tins to coordinate the Teaching strategy
and I appointed Dr. Paula Costa as Ad-
ministrator of the Institute. Elections were
held for the presidencies of the Councils,
with Professors Lenea Campino (Scientif-
ic Council), Miguel Viveiros (Pedagogical
Council) and Claudia Conceição (Ethics
Council) being elected.
The Board continued to implement its
various work agendas: the qualifica-
tion and delocalisation of education, the
strengthening of distance learning, the
focus of research, the promotion of co-
operation, the management and evalu-
ation of knowledge, optimisation of ser-
vice delivery, the observation of health,
communication, the protection of muse-
ological heritage, internal reorganisation,
the rehabilitation of infrastructure and the
development of its employees.
The IHMT has focused on achieving the
goals set out in its 2015 Action Plan, in-
corporated into its Strategy, in line with
NOVA’s strategy.
One of the main goals achieved was
the surveying, through a benchmarking
study, of the IHMT’s positioning in rela-
tion to the best European institutions in
tropical medicine, with a view to offering
guidelines as to which direction to follow.
Education
In 2015, the IHMT had a total of 388
students enrolled: 118 Master’s de-
gree students, 116 PhD students and
154 students on short courses. On the
short courses, students from Commu-
nity of Portuguese Speaking Countries
(CPLP) member countries predominate
(93% international students). Of the total
number of students enrolled on Masters,
PhD and non-degree courses, 50% are
international students. The IHMT offered
a Post-graduate, a Master’s degree and
a PhD in collaboration with other NOVA’s
academic units and expanded the range
of course taught under an eLearning sys-
tem, combining for the first time synchro-
nous streaming sessions with asynchro-
nous classes provided via the Moodle
platform.
A total of 61 interns and 6 students
participated in International mobility ini-
tiatives (incoming, outgoing and Fellow
Mundus).
A total of 35 public exams were held: 27
2nd cycle dissertations were presented
and 8 PhD theses.
We further highlight the holding, on 19
October, of the Official Opening Ceremo-
ny of the academic year 2015-2016, fea-
turing the guest speaker Professor João
Schwalbach from Mozambique, where
the top students were awarded prizes in
their respective areas of study.
The 6
th
edition of IHMT’s Science Semi-
nars was held on 11 December 2015,
featuring as guest speaker Dr. Michael
Makanga from the EDCTP. During the
day, PhD students presented their theses
orally and in poster format.
Services to the Community
The provision of services to the commu-
nity forms an integral part of the IHMT’s
activities. In partnership with the Asso-
ciation for the Development of Tropical
Medicine (ADMT), consultation services
were provided (travel medicine, tropical
medicine and tropical dermatology) and
vaccination, with over 10,000 consulta-
tions and around 20,000 vaccines being
given in 2015.
At the IHMT, specialised laboratory diag-
nosis are run. Some of which are unique
to Portugal, such as those of the refer-
ence laboratory of the International Lep-
tospirosis Society (ILS)/WHO.
The IHMT has participated in technical
assistance missions under the auspices
of the CPLP and the WHO. The IHMT’s
Vivarium, which is licensed by the Por-
tuguese Food and Veterinary Directorate
General, and insectaries that perform
specialised animal experimentation ser-
vices on small rodents and mosquitoes
for research institutions and SMEs.
The IHMT also contributes to the dissem-
ination of science to the general public
through activities under the
Ciência Viva
and Open Day programmes and interac-
tion with the media.
Scientific Research
The IHMT’s new Global Health and Tropi-
cal Medicine (GHTM) research centre, in
operation since January, has been reas-
sessed as ‘Excellent’ by the Foundation
for Science and Technology.
The IHMT has consolidated and devel-
oped its research through the following
groups: Vector borne diseases and path-
ogens (VBD); TB, HIV and opportunistic
diseases and pathogens (THOP); and
Population health, policies and services
(PPS).
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