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BizConnect Event Timor-Leste

Dili, Timor-Leste
25 September 2026

The event took place under the EU–ASEAN Sustainable Connectivity Package – Higher Education Programme (SCOPE-HE), with funding from the European Union under its Global Gateway strategy. Nuffic organised the regional BizConnect training in Bali in April 2026, which helped prepare participants to organise events in their own countries.

Dr Frank Feulner shakes hands with a company representative as he presents a token of appreciation on stage.
Location Dili, Timor-Leste
Date and time Friday 25 September 2026 from 08:00 to 17:00
Education sectors Vocational education and training

About the event

The Instituto Politécnico de Timor-Leste (IPTL) hosted BizConnect Timor-Leste in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Timor-Leste and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Culture. The event brought together 78 registered participants from 22 institutions and organisations, including 39 students and alumni and representatives from 10 companies. They explored how vocational and higher education institutions could work with employers to prepare graduates for work, with a focus on livestock production and civil construction.

Three representatives strike a decorated drum with mallets in front of the BizConnect backdrop.

The opening ceremony brought together Mariano Assanami Sabino, Vice Prime Minister of Timor-Leste; Thorsten Bargfrede, Ambassador of the European Union to Timor-Leste; Alcino da Costa Isaac Andrade Fernandes, President of the Instituto Politécnico de Timor-Leste; Jorge Manuel Serrano, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Timor-Leste; and Dr Frank Feulner, SCOPE-HE Team Leader. A traditional drum ceremony marked the opening of the event.

Seven companies presented their work and the skills they looked for in recruits. Two panel discussions, held mainly in Tetum, gave students the opportunity to ask employers about job requirements and career paths. Students and lecturers continued those conversations with company representatives at the information stands.

A panellist speaks into a handheld microphone while a woman at the lectern and four other seated panellists listen.

Panellists took part in a discussion following company presentations at BizConnect Timor-Leste in Dili on 25 September 2026.

At the partnership-building tables, employers, lecturers and student representatives explored opportunities for internships, on-the-job training, guest lectures and company visits. Participants identified six potential collaborations and agreed on next steps for four of them.

Participants talk around a round table, with discussion sheets and pens in front of them.

Over lunch at BizConnect Timor-Leste, employers, lecturers and student representatives explored opportunities for internships and on-the-job training during the partnership-building session in Dili on 25 September 2026.

Read the BizConnect Timor-Leste news article.