Semear Campus

: accessing the viability of an educational institution tailored for people with intellectual disabilities

Abstract

In an era marked by increasing awareness of the importance of inclusive education and social equity, establishing educational institutions tailored to the needs of diverse student populations has become paramount. In Europe, around 87 million people have some form of disability. Despite countries' efforts to improve these people's social and economic situation, access to education, training, and employment still needs to be balanced. This problem is also faced in Portugal, where people with disabilities face high unemployment, mainly due to social barriers to employment and a shortage of appropriate training opportunities. Semear was established in 2014 as a source of hope and empowerment for students with intellectual disabilities and their families. Semear aims to support integrating people with intellectual disabilities, providing them professional training and adequate personal and social development. Now, Semear wants to expand and attract new students while providing the current students with more conditions for their development. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to develop a business plan, analyzing the economic and financial viability of the Semear Campus. Despite Semear's operational profitability, this project is not viable as it has a negative NPV. The main reason for the unfeasibility of the project is the amount that needs to be invested to build the campus, so the company must find partners and financiers who can meet these costs. In this thesis, and due to the early stage of the project, this support has yet to be considered.

Date of Award	3 May 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Rute Xavier (Supervisor)