A day of celebration, opened with an official ceremony to inaugurate the new academic year but, above all, to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of the Catholic University of Mozambique. A ceremony held today, Friday, March 14, in Beira, in the presence of the rector Father Filipe Sungo, Bishop Dalla Zuanna, the municipal authorities, and the university’s academic community. A CUAMM delegation attended the event including the director Father Dante Carraro, accompanied by Professor Alberto Mantovani, Father Lorenzo Piva, and Father Matteo Fornasiero, priests of the Diocese of Padua; Emilio Agosti, a friend and supporter of Cuamm; Stefano Bassanese, head of the Cuamm college, who joined Cuamm cooperants Francesco Vladimiro Segala and Giorgia Gelfi, already present in the field.
“Today is not the day I want to list the many initiatives in which Cuamm collaborates and supports the Catholic University of Beira,” said Father Dante Carraro – CUAMM Director General in his speech. “Rather, I would like to acknowledge a valuable aspect of this university, which is its strong connection to the community. Individual careers and money are certainly important, but science, research, and expertise must not forget to serve the poorest and most vulnerable.”
Also present at the ceremony, alongside the director Father Dante Carraro, was Professor Alberto Mantovani – Scientific Director at Humanitas. In the framework of the collaboration between CUAMM and UCM, Prof. Mantovani has visited Beira several times in recent years, giving lectures at the Faculty of Medicine.
“It is a privilege to be here for the third time and to celebrate an important anniversary that looks to the future,” said Professor Mantovani. “The future begins right here, where knowledge is built and shared.”
A construction that has lasted thirty years, during which the Catholic University of Mozambique has developed an educational project that today stands out at national level for its scientific rigor, innovation, internationalization, and certainly for its human values.
“Since its founding in 1995, UCM has responded to educational challenges with rigor and innovation, with the firm intention of forming upright citizens. We do not only want well-prepared and highly qualified professionals in their fields, but also leaders committed to the common good,” said the rector, Father Filipe Sungo.
The bishop of Beira, Claudio Dalla Zuanna, also reinforced the importance of the human dimension. Echoing the words of Pope Francis, he said: “The university is certainly a place where science is cultivated with seriousness and rigor, but it is also where hearts and minds bloom not only for academic results but for generously serving humanity. The university cannot be an ivory tower must be able to listen to society, accept challenges, and offer answers.”
Timeline
It was in 1995 that the Catholic University of Mozambique (UCM) was inaugurated in the city of Beira, the second university in the country, about 1,500 km from the capital, Maputo. A few years later, also with the support of Doctors with Africa CUAMM and thanks to over a decade of collaboration with the city’s health authorities, the Faculty of Medicine of the Catholic University of Mozambique was established.
Starting by designing and teaching the Anatomy, Surgery and Internal Medicine course in 2004, CUAMM’s commitment alongside the Faculty of Medicine of UCM has never ceased; on the contrary, it has grown over time.
On August 25, 2007 we participated in the very first graduation ceremony for the first class of aspiring doctors in Beira. “A historic date for the entire country,” as defined by the university’s rector, Father Alberto Ferreira. Indeed, these were the first students trained outside the capital, Maputo, in the central-northern region of the country, where at the time there was only one doctor for every 100,000 inhabitants.
It was not an endpoint but a crucial milestone on which we continued to build a solid and lasting collaboration that over the years has involved numerous partners. From the Municipality of Padua to the city’s Hospital Authority, from the Veneto Region to the Savings Bank of Padua and Rovigo, and the Cariparo Foundation, with everyone’s support, we have ensured teaching support and intensified our commitment. We have ensured maintenance on facilities (classrooms, laboratories), provided educational materials (books, computers, etc.), offered internship opportunities at the Central Hospital (HCB), awarded scholarships to deserving students, supported research projects, and consolidated our collaboration on the faculty’s syllabus.
«For years, Cuamm has collaborated, in synergy with the pedagogical direction, on the curriculum of the Faculty of Medicine,» explains Francesco Segala, a Cuamm doctor and head of relations with UCM. «Through this collaboration, we continue to ensure the delivery of some of the teaching modules included in the students’ curriculum through the dispatch of international experts on short missions, in collaboration with the Universities of Padua and, more recently, Bari. This year, for the first time, the entire infectious diseases module was taught by a Cuamm doctor, and it was a very profound experience for me, both professionally and personally.»
From 2007 to date, over 500 students have graduated at the Faculty of Medicine at UCM thanks to the financial support of CUAMM. Professionals and human resources for a country historically lacking qualified health personnel.
Among the latest results of this historic collaboration is a new training proposal: the first and only advanced training program in Mozambique aimed at healthcare professionals, including doctors and nurses, who now have the opportunity to specialize in pediatric and neonatal emergencies with international experts. Supported by the Italian Ministry of Education (MIUR), the program is the result of then collaboration between CUAMM, the University of Padua, the Catholic University of Mozambique, and the Eduardo Mondlane University of Maputo.
