The Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal (IPS) and Start Campus, in Sines, signed a collaboration agreement to strengthen the qualification of professionals in the technological field and respond to the need for human resources, was announced today.
© Start Campus
23/07/2026
by
Lusa
ANDm reported, the IPS explained that this partnership arises after the creation of the Escola Superior de Sustentabilidade, Indústria e Tecnologias Digital (ESSITD), in Sines, in Setúbal district, allowing to approach “the academic ecosystem of the industrial sector”.
The protocol, signed on Tuesday, provides for the development of joint formations “aligned with the qualification needs” of the megacenter of data, led by Start Campus.
According to IPS, this investment “requires a sustainable strategy to capture and establish qualified professionals in the long term”.
According to IPS President Angela Lemos, the Alentejo coast “is a strategic territory for the country, from the industrial, energy, port and logistics points of view”.
Despite this, it has remained for decades “without a structured presence of public Higher Education”, highlighted.
“ We want a close polytechnic school aimed at solving concrete problems, built in conjunction with partners and committed to the economic, social and environmental development of the region”, said the responsible, quoted in the statement.
For his part, the chairman of the IPS ESSITD Installer Commission, João Pires, considered this cooperation with the economic fabric of Sines “essential to look forward to the future, form the local talent and open the doors to internationalization”.
On the other hand, the Director of Operations of Start Campus, Luís Rodrigues, also mentioned in the statement, highlighted the importance of preparing “people who learn doing”.
“ One of Europe’s largest data centres is not built without, at the same time, developing the necessary technical capacity to sustain it over the next 20 or 30 years,” he said.
Also the company's Human Resources manager, Carla Callisto, justified the partnership with the shortage of specialized professionals and defended the responsibility of companies in creating qualifying responses.
“ If we want more local talent, we have to invest locally. And this starts long before the recruitment process”, he said.
Start Campus is building and operating the SINES DC project, a 1.2 GW data center campus (Gigawatts) in Portugal, in an investment of EUR 8.5 billion.