The tourists love it, the locals cherish it and foreign students flock to it. Algarve in the south of Portugal with more than 200 kilometres of coastline, most of it white sandy beaches, is a much sought after location.
The Algarve university
The Algarve university is not just among the top rated universities but offers a wide range of courses and facilities right from undergraduates to research students. Out of the total of 8,000 students nearly 25 percent are foreigners from several parts of the world. The university, the same as most universities in Portugal, maintains an excellent cooperation with the industry, at home and abroad. Students come to this university to study many diversified areas which include electronics, biomedicine, pharmacy, marine sciences, engineering, chemistry, social sciences and arts.
For detailed information on Algarve university please visit their website.
Life in the Region
The Algarve region is known for its rich history, beauty, beaches, bars and restaurants, nightlife, parties, seafood and other Portuguese delicacies, delightful fishing villages that are worth repeated visits for the local music, dance, fortified wines and the food, though most of all for the warm hearted people. Warm hearted and multilingual, most of the city dwellers in Faro and Portimao speak English, French and Spanish in addition to Portuguese and it’s not at all unusual to find even those living in the villages speaking all of these languages.
Another reason that so many find this to be a preferred destination is the climate. The weather is pleasantly warm to hot straight from March to October and the rest of the months are not too cold.
Cost of Living
Student accommodations are clean and tidy and begin at 125 Euros per month for the dormitories and those who cannot be accommodated quite easily find paying guest accommodations or shared flats through the student’s union.
Over all a student lives well enough on a budget of around 900 Euros per month in addition to the tuition fees which is nominal.
As for transportation, much of your travel within Faro and Portimao where the campus of the university is spread, will be on foot or bicycle due to the small size of the cities though if you prefer, buses are available and the costs are very affordable.
There are many who earn and learn and the Portuguese government allows students to work 20 hours a week and full time during the holidays. The minimum wages in Portugal are 700 Euros/month for full time work and this is divided on a pro rata basis to achieve the hourly wage. Most Portuguese work from 9 am to 1 pm and then again from 3 pm to 7 pm.
The law does not permit employers to make employees work beyond 40 hours a week.
Photos: Shutterstock
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