Last Monday, on 14 January 2019, Porto City Hall received a visit from students of the University of Missouri, United States, under the "Study in Portugal Network" programme, which, to this day, has brought hundreds of American undergraduates to national territory, for personalized educational programmes.

After a guided tour of downtown Porto carried out by ATP – Associação de Turismo do Porto (Convention & Visitors Bureau) and a visit to the City Hall, this group of professors and students from Kansas City was welcomed by the current mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira. The conversation between the group was focused on the benefits of studying in Portugal and, especially, in Porto.

In this group, was also Allan J. Katz, the United States Ambassador in Portugal and Michael Baum, Executive Board Member of the Luso-American Development Foundation - FLAD - and current director of the programme "Study in Portugal Network - SiPN". This programme, launched in 2014, was created to fill a lack of information about the Portuguese study exchange programmes, in USA.

From all over North America, groups of students arrive in Portugal to attend four different types of programmes. In this case, the University of Missouri came via a short-term programme focused on topics such as entrepreneurship, history, literature, arts and economics. There are, however, more extensive programmes, which can be divided by several universities, providing the student with a better cultural and educational experience.

 The SiPN has branches in Lisbon and the Azores and its future goal is to expand it to Porto.