This year, students from IFTM completed a consultancy project to help two newly built social enterprises by the ARTM (Associação de Reabilitação de Toxicodependentes de Macau) located in a redeveloped touristic spot in Ka-Ho Our Lady of Sorrows Church. With the support from the government, these social enterprises comprise of a coffee shop “Hold On To Hope” and art gallery will be open in December 2020 aiming to provide skills development and social mobility for the clients at the rehabilitation and treatment centre.
Dr Fernando Lourenço led students to explore innovative ways to drive in more traffic to the coffee shop and art gallery, propose business models for different market segment, to create two new platforms to allow these social enterprises to be financially independent and allow clients from ARTM gain valuable work experience. This is another example of the holistic teaching approach offer at IFTM to make education more relevant via service-learning approach.