In collaboration with the University of the Algarve, Faro Câmara has come up with ambitious plans designed to make the city more student-friendly.
One of the first is to turn the old beer factory (Fábrica de Cerveja – pictured) into a hostel, or form of artistic residence.
There is also talk of creating a new programme, to be dubbed ‘Bolsa de Voluntários’, which would enable university students to lodge with elderly residents in the downtown area. The idea is not just to help young people find reasonably-priced, easily accessible accommodation, but to also engineer a means of rescuing the elderly from loneliness and isolation.
The University of the Algarve currently has 9,000 students – 10% of foreign nationality – and 700 teachers and researchers.
