João Amaro de Matos is Vice Rector of NOVA University Lisbon and coordinates the areas of Education and International Development. He is a full professor of Finance at Nova School of Business and Economics, holds a PhD in Mathematical Physics at USP, Brazil, 1988, and PhD in Finance at INSEAD, 1995.
He is responsible for the international strategy of the University, including accreditations, rankings, mobility, cooperation projects, and contributions to networks and alliances. Under his guidance, his team created a database of the NOVA Community around the world, used to support a strategy of communication, fund raising, placement of talent, and international recruitment. He was also responsible for the development of an umbrella structure, NOVA 4 the Globe, under which all institutional activities with a focus on sustainability and social impact of the University are coordinated. Additionally, during his mandate the University developed a Foundation Programme that recruits and prepares undergraduate candidates to NOVA from more than 45 countries outside the European Union, and integrated the European University Alliance EUTOPIA.
Regarding the Educational portfolio, João Amaro de Matos is responsible for establishing an educational strategy for NOVA University, focusing on the implementation of pedagogical innovative methods across the university, and the rethinking of the educational offer under the challenges of the after-Covid times. This portfolio includes staff development and training, development of transversal competences, such as digital and entrepreneurial skills, as well as an education for the sustainability challenges at all educational levels.
All these educational concerns cross directly with other projects of NOVA University, namely its consortium CAMPUS SUL with Evora and Algarve Universities, and its international commitments, namely with its integration within the EUTOPIA Alliance, and the establishment of a new NOVA campus in Cairo.
João Amaro de Matos is also Vice President of the Executive Board of YERUN - Young European Research Universities Network, a non-profit association that gathers 22 young research-oriented universities, from 15 European countries.