News

6 February 2025

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa meets with rector and students

At the invitation of CU Rector Milena Králíčková, the Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa visited Charles University on Thursday, 6 February 2025. Together they discussed the possibilities of deepening cooperation between Charles University and the University of Coimbra. They shared their experiences and views on the current situation in Europe and the world. A day earlier, the Portuguese head of state met with Czech President Petr Pavel.

Charles University and the Portuguese Universidade de Coimbra (founded in 1290) are linked by membership in the Coimbra Group, which consists of some of the oldest higher education institutions, with long traditions, in Europe.

“The purpose of our cooperation is to raise awareness of key European issues and share best practices in the areas of higher education - i.e. science, teaching and internationalisation,” Charles University Rector Milena Králíčková said on the occasion. The rector also praised the existing Czech-Portuguese academic cooperation in the form of exchange of students under the Erasmus programme.

A president with many years experience as a TV journalist

After a working meeting lasting about half an hour, the Portuguese president met students from Portugal in the Small Auditorium; more than a hundred Portuguese nationals are studying at Charles University currently, in various study programmes and across all faculties.

Europe in a Changing World was the title of the president's lecture in the Hall of Patriots at the Carolinum, and right from the start the charismatic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa won the attention and sympathy of all present. The former university law professor, former politician and member of Parliament did not deny his years of experience as a journalist who hosted a politically-oriented programme on Portuguese television for almost 20 years.“The world is changing, we need to be ready and able to react. Globalisation has shrunk distances, time has forced us to embrace change, and the ways of leadership or the use of power - military, economic or energy - behind all significant changes in society are changing,” President de Sousa said.

Despite his busy programme, the Portuguese president would have been happy to continue the debate in the Carolinum into the late afternoon. As a former university teacher for many years, he appreciated the interest of the students present. And it was far from just the “locals” from Charles University. Students from other universities, such as the University of Economics, Prague or MUNI in Brno, also came to enjoy the debate and lecture.

Students were enthusiastic

“It was a great opportunity for us to meet the president. Sousa's ideas, I believe, are very beneficial for our young generation. I am very grateful for the opportunity to participate,” Natálie, a student from the University of Economics, Prague, shared her immediate feelings. “I was very much looking forward to hearing the lecture of the Portuguese president,” a medical student from Brazil, studying at the Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, Charles University, stressed. “This event was great for me too. I am a first-year student of Portuguese language and literature at Masaryk University,” said Mustafa, an Egyptian graduate of the Master's degree in Linguistics at MUNI. Kristýna, Mustafa's classmate, also came to Prague for the lecture.

The eighteen-member group studying Portuguese philology at the Faculty of Arts in Brno was brought to Prague to meet the Portuguese head of state by teacher Iva and her son Tomáš. The event has an undeniable international appeal.

During his visit to Charles University, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was able to see the insignia of Charles University and hear a performance of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor.