East Timor has reached independence in 2002, after two periods of colonialism
and after severe violence, especially following 1999. As a result, the country was
almost destroyed, and lost its qualified workforce in all sectors, including education.
To ensure national independence it is necessary to reconstruct and build the basic
infrastructures for all sectors, and mainly, prepare a technical and professional elite
expected to ensure the autonomy of the society and the sovereignty of the state. In
this context, education plays a key role. Thus, the Timorese Government has
supported several approaches to empower national education, mainly through
teacher education. Due to the lack of qualified teacher trainers, East Timor has
resorted to the support of teachers from Portuguese-speaking countries, such as
Portugal. In this paper we describe and discuss how a module of a bachelor’s course
carried out in East Timor was designed and implemented by Portuguese teachers.
Furthermore, we reflect upon the singularities of such an experience, highlighting
the challenges and the obstacles found by the trainers and the trainees.