The Strategic Plan for the University of the Azores (2026–2032) was recently delivered and presented on the island of São Miguel. Early coverage has largely emphasized two priorities: the pressing creation of an Academic Clinical Center and a renewed focus on emerging technologies—particularly artificial intelligence—alongside increased financial support from both the Portuguese Republic and the regional budget. As observers not steeped in the technicalities of institutional planning, we nonetheless find it striking that areas such as agricultural sciences, climate studies, renewable energy, and ocean research appear to have slipped from the foreground. We will return to that omission.

The emphasis on healthcare, while commendable in intent, seems to verge on excess. What is being proposed is the urgent creation of an Academic Clinical Center, likely modeled on those established across mainland Portugal since at least 2015. These centers typically take the form of consortia bringing together healthcare providers, universities, and research institutions within a given region. Their central mission is to modernize medical education and improve clinical care through research, shared resources, and participation in clinical trials.

This model was strongly encouraged during the administration of Portugal’s 21st Constitutional Government, which sought to deepen scientific development and professional training in the health sector through closer collaboration among medical schools, hospital centers, and research units. In the literature, such entities are described as integrated structures combining care, teaching, and medical research—designed to advance knowledge and translate scientific evidence into better health outcomes. Their strength lies in synergy: research generates knowledge, that knowledge informs clinical practice, and both feed into the training of future professionals.

There is no question that a consortium of this kind can yield meaningful benefits, and one can reasonably assume that the university would serve as its intellectual and institutional anchor. Yet in the case of the Azores, a practical limitation emerges. The University currently offers only a bachelor’s degree in Basic Medical Studies, with the first three years taught under a protocol with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Coimbra. That structure, valuable as it is, may prove insufficient as a foundation for the kind of fully integrated Academic Clinical Center now envisioned.

It is understandable that a six-year strategic plan should look toward emerging fields—areas the University of the Azores cannot afford to ignore if it hopes to remain relevant in a rapidly evolving global landscape. But in doing so, it must not lose sight of its greatest and most distinctive strengths. The Azores are not just another region seeking to catch up; they are, by their very nature, a living laboratory.

Here, the sciences of the sea, environment, and climate are not abstractions but daily realities. Agricultural sciences, renewable energy, and even space-related research find in these islands a rare convergence of conditions—geographic, ecological, and atmospheric—that few places on Earth can replicate. These are not secondary fields. They are areas where the University of the Azores can lead, compete with centers of excellence, attract researchers, produce meaningful science, and elevate its international credibility.

A clinical center? By all means. But not at the expense of what already sets the institution apart. Strategy, after all, is not only about responding to urgency—it is about recognizing identity.

A translated op-ed from the Diário Insular, Terceira Island, Azores.