The University of Madeira (UMa) is a Portuguese public higher education institution created in 1988 located in the Madeira archipelago. Always attentive to the needs of the archipelago and the Euro-Atlantic zone, UMa intends to prepare its students to be complete citizens of the 21st century global society and, through its entrepreneurial character, the quality of its research and its spirit of service, contribute to the economic, social and cultural development of Madeira, Portugal and the world.
The Master’s degree in Regional and Local Studies (MERL) takes seriously its multidisciplinary teaching mission. It provides diverse approaches to understanding political, economic and cultural practices in an integrated manner in institutional and social, regional and local realities. It accomplishes it based on different areas of knowledge: History, Economics, Tourism, Geology, Culture, Art, Heritage, Literature and Linguistics. MERL seeks to connect the environment in which it is inserted, collaborating on events when invited. In 2019, for example, MERL’s management received an invitation to present the communication “Corporate responsibility and sustainability of social economy organizations: contribution of Regional and Local Studies to understanding reality in the Autonomous Region of Madeira”, in the Workshop “Social Responsibility and Community Development”, organized by the core of the European Anti-Poverty Network of RAM, Auditorium of the Social Security Institute of Madeira. Moreover, on the one hand, through the teachers and the themes they teach, MERL has participated in several initiatives, whether congresses such as INSULA I, II and III. It develops information and awareness-raising activities, encouraging student initiatives. Thus, on the other hand, it motivates students to be attentive to the environment and sustainability.