In addition to aiming to strengthen the teaching offer in the Department of Oceanography and Fisheries (DOP) in the upcoming years, the University of the Azores (UAç) plans to invest 4 million euros in the building of a university residence in Horta. The student accommodation will have 50 beds and will be financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) and by the Horta City Council.

As Susana Mira Leal, dean of UAç explained in a formal session, “This is a strategic project for the University of the Azores, the island of Faial and Horta. It is a concession/construction project that is still in the preliminary study phase, but will soon be ready for the respective specifications to be launched”. Susana Mira Leal remembered that the Azorean University first applied in May 2022, under the framework of the PRR, for the construction of three reasonably priced university houses in Horta, Angra do Heroísmo, and Ponta Slender University centres.

“Unfortunately, it was only two years later that we managed to meet the conditions to launch the projects. It was a time of a lot of work and a lot of negotiation, of some hesitations and some difficulties”, the dean remarked adding that only with the help of "strategic partnerships" was this outcome achievable. The Azorean University's recent announcement of an investment is, according to Carlos Ferreira, president of Horta City Council, also a means of keeping young people in the municipality and growing a sector vital to the island's future.

The dean claims that the goal of these initiatives is to draw more students, graduates, and eventually master's and doctorate degrees to the UAç Horta campus. The social-democratic mayor emphasised, "For the municipality of Horta, education, in its multiple aspects, constitutes a fundamental pillar of municipal policies," citing the numerous initiatives established by the city council to assist young students, as well as those who live on the island or for those who travel to further their education.