On Sunday, April 4, a cargo containing 200.000 thousand surgical masks and 3.000 eye protections amounting to approximately 73,000 euros arrived in Lisbon, a donation by Ms. LIN Weifang, Iscte’s doctoral student and CEO of “China Meheco Guangdong Pharma Co. Ltd.”, a Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical company.

Considering the size of the donation and the needs of our country, with the student’s consent, the material was in turn donated to the NHS and forwarded to the Military Lab.

LIN Weifang is enrolled in the Doctor of Management program that, since 2010, Iscte offers in cooperation with Southern Medical University and which is officially recognized by the Ministry of Education of China. LIN Weifang has over 19 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical and health industries and has played a seminal role in the fight against COVID-19 in Guangdong province by integrating medical resources to ensure sufficient supply.

“I am honored to be able to make this donation to Iscte, my alma mater and, in a way, assist Portugal in the fight against this epidemic” Ms. Lin Weifang said. “This doctoral program challenges geographic distances and is stronger than metal and stone. Truly speaking, we share the same destiny and the same future. With our joint effort we will soon overcome the

Chinese Embassy donation

The Chinese Embassy in Lisbon offered a thousand masks to Iscte professors who collaborate with joint doctoral programs between Iscte and Chinese universities.

Iscte's PhD programs for Chinese students started in 2009 with the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), a major public technological university, located in Chengdu, Western China, and soon afterwards in collaboration with Southern Medical University (SMU), also an important medical university, located in Guangzhou, in the south of the country.

Both programs are officially accredited by the Ministry of Education of China, which makes them very prestigious and sought after: Currently an average of five students apply for each open position. Over the past ten years, around 150 students have completed their doctorate at Iscte, under this program.