The institutional visit of the Santa Maria Health School (SMHS) to the Faculty of Medical Sciences of Minas Gerais (FCMMG) continued with a series of working meetings dedicated to strengthening academic and scientific collaboration between the two institutions.
During the sessions, two flagship projects from SMHS were presented: CAPAGE – Promoting Academic and Professional Excellence in Health Care to Meet the Challenges of Aging in Sri Lanka and ClinicalModelling, both funded by the Erasmus+ programme.
The CAPAGE project addresses the challenge of population aging in Sri Lanka — one of the fastest-aging countries in South Asia — by promoting the modernization of higher and professional education in Healthy Aging and Geriatrics (HA&G). Its goal is to enhance the competencies of healthcare professionals working with older adults through an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach aligned with EU standards and national health priorities. The project also aims to create an academic and scientific network on aging, foster research and internationalization, and raise awareness about active and healthy aging among citizens.
Meanwhile, ClinicalModelling introduces an innovative telementoring and video-modelling approach designed to strengthen the technical and surgical competencies of surgeons, scrub nurses, and students. The project brings together nine partner organizations from Portugal, Spain, Poland, and Slovenia, including higher education institutions, hospitals, and healthcare companies.
The ClinicalModelling project was again highlighted during the first day of the III Luso-Brazilian Symposium, held on October 23, in Round Table 1, titled “Professional Health Training in Intercultural Contexts – Contemporary Challenges”. Representing SMHS, Professor Abílio Teixeira took part in the discussion alongside Professors Maria Clara Salomão e Silva Guimarães and Larissa Viana Almeida de Lieberenz from FCMMG.
The second round table, titled “Mental Health in Higher Education: Psychological and Psychopedagogical Support Experiences in Portugal and Brazil”, also featured SMHS through Dr. Emanuel António Dias, Psychologist at GAAPE, who shared the Portuguese experience alongside Professors Tatiane Dias Bacelar and Marina da Cunha Pinto Colares from FCMMG.
These joint initiatives reinforced the shared commitment of Portugal and Brazil to pedagogical innovation, intercultural collaboration, and mental health promotion in higher education — key pillars for shaping the next generation of healthcare professionals.
