The University of Aveiro ( pt, Universidade de Aveiro) is a

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universi ...

, in addition to providing

polytechnic Polytechnic is most commonly used to refer to schools, colleges, or universities that qualify as an institute of technology or vocational university also sometimes called universities of applied sciences. Polytechnic may also refer to: Educatio ...

education, located in the Portuguese city of Aveiro. Founded in 1973, it has a student population of approximately 12,500, distributed among 58 graduate, 40 Masters of Science and 25 PhD programs, distributed by

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

and autonomous sections, with specialized faculties. It is a Research & Development university, with research departments developing programmes in fundamental and applied mathematics,

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

, telecommunications,

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrat ...

bioinformatics Bioinformatics () is an interdisciplinary field that develops methods and software tools for understanding biological data, in particular when the data sets are large and complex. As an interdisciplinary field of science, bioinformatics combi ...

, sea sciences,

materials Material is a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical and chemical properties, or on their geolog ...

, design,

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

and

industrial engineering Industrial engineering is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information an ...

. The main campus and nearby Administration and Accounting Institute, are located in the city centre of Aveiro. There are external/regional campuses in

Águeda Águeda () is a city and a municipality in Portugal. According to the Portuguese 2011 census, the municipality of Águeda had 47,729 inhabitants, in an area of . The city proper had a population of 14,504 (2001 data), while the remainder is distri ...

(Higher Education Technological and Management School of Águeda) and Oliveira de Azeméis (Higher Education School of North Aveiro). It serves as a pole for the inter-university Doctoral program, along with the universities of

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...

and Minho. Its integrated Masters in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering was the first Portuguese IT oriented European Accredited Engineering Masters (EUR-ACE) by the European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education.

History

On 15 December 1973, at the inaugural speech of Professor José Veiga Simão, then Minister of National Education ( pt, Ministro da Educação Nacional) the new rector, stated: :''"In the peaceful construction of the future and in defense of sacred and enduring values, here will rise the University of Aveiro.'' Announced in a speech at the Museum of Aveiro, the event was held to mark the first meeting of the commission establishing the University of Aveiro, that included José Simão and other members of academic society and Aveiro. The first pedagogical and scientific activities began in 1974, with first days classes in the telecommunication course, comprising 46 students. The licentiate courses established at the University of Aveiro (UA) were the first courses in innovative areas, that were not explored by traditional universities at the time in Portugal, but important to regional or national initiatives. By 1976 there were courses in environmental science and education, natural sciences and education, mathematics and education, Portuguese-English and education and Portuguese-French and education. The student population included 338. It was only in that year that the first infrastructure were established in the area later known as the University Campus of Santigao ( pt, Campus Universitário de Santiago). During the 1977–1978 lecture year, there was a proposal to create a pilot project: the first ''Centro Integrado de Formação de Professores'' (CIFOP), today the Integrated Unit for Continuing Education ( pt, Unidade Integrada de Formação Continuada, UINFOC), in the country. At UA, the intention was to establish a training institute for professors/teachers, from infant education to secondary school, using the latest pedagogical resources and innovative methods. The project was headed by Professor João Evangelista Loureiro, the former vice-rector at UA. A period of consolidation occurred at the university in the 1980s, resulting in internal regulation and the creation of fundamental bodies (during the mandate of the second rector Dr. José Mesquita Rodrigues) as well as the conclusion of the purchase of lands for the campus, later completed during the mandate of Dr. Renato Araújo. By the end of the 1980s (specifically 24 September 1988), the law for university autonomy, permitted the consolidation of the university organic laws, and homologation of the university statutes, in June 1989. Meanwhile, a team coordinated by architect Nuno Portas, had begun selecting among various prestigious Portuguese architects in 1986 to design the Santigao University Campus, that fell in line with their attempt to harmonize the structures with the architectural heritage of the city. Many of the buildings, therefore, were designed by internationally recognized architects, among them: Alcino Soutinho, Álvaro Sisa Vieira, Pedro Ramalho, Luís Ramalho, José Maria Lopo Prata, Eduardo Souto Moura, Adalberto Dias, Rebello de Andrade, Jorge Kol de Carvalho, Gonçalo Byrne and Figueiredo Dias, whose works have annually been visited by national and international specialists. By the mid-1980s teaching had expanded with innovative courses in Environment, Industrial Management, Music, Tourism, Chemical Industry and New Technologies. The 1990s was marked by a new phase at UA, with priorities redefined to position the university towards internationalization and cooperation, namely European programs, reinforcing relationships with Portuguese-speaking and Latin states, and building protocols between international institutes, organs and companies abroad. In parallel there were initiatives in continuing education, distance learning and improving student satisfaction and quality. In 1994, an Internet search engine, SAPO, was created in this university. Since 1998, the university has been developing an ecological motor vehicle, Ícaro, aiming to run the largest distance with the smallest amount of consumed fuel, having participated in the international competition

Shell Eco-marathon Shell Eco-marathon is a world-wide energy efficiency competition sponsored by Shell. Participants build automotive vehicles to achieve the highest possible fuel efficiency. There are two vehicle classes within Shell Eco-marathon: Prototype and Urb ...

. During the second mandate of the fourth rector, Dr. Júlio Pedrosa, the student population was 8000, and the university had the most number of internationally recognized programs. During 25th anniversary celebrations, UA advanced with the integration of polytechnical study into early training programs. The creation of the Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão de Águeda (in 1997), the integration of the Instituto de Contabilidade e Administração de Aveiro (in 1999), the implementation of the Escola Superior de Saúde (in 2000), and the implementation of a polytechnical school in the northern district, the Escola Superior Aveiro-Norte], was part of this process of integration. In 2012–13, it was ranked 351–400 in the ''Times Higher Education'' World University rankings. Rankings The first mandate of its sixth rector, Dr. Maria Helena Nazaré, was marked by the start of professional program in technology (2002–2003). Since 2009, it has hosted a SexLab aimed at studying sexual health. In February 2010 Professor Manuel António de Assunção took charge as the seventh rector, a position held for two mandates until May 2018. During this time he promoted the establishment of the Fábrica – Centro de Ciência Viva de Aveiro. On 8 May 2018 Dr. Paulo Jorge Ferreira took office as the eight rector.

Culture

The university hosts ''3810-UA'', a weekly national public television program. In mid-spring, a one-week break from formal studies is allowed, wherein anyone may participate in academic activities,

concerts A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide vari ...

or Enterro do Ano, a local academic

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of s ...

. The university is a regular participant or organizer of

inter-university or inter-school competitions, i.e.: Micro-Rato (hardware robotics) and Cyber-Rato (behavioral software). In 2008, one of its teams won the

Robocup RoboCup is an annual international robotics competition founded in 1996 by a group of university professors (including Hiroaki Kitano, Manuela M. Veloso, and Minoru Asada). The aim of the competition is to promote robotics and AI research by o ...

world competition, in China. The university occasionally organizes mathematics competitions, mostly aimed at pre-university level students.

University Campus Santiago

The university architecture is modern, with more than 25 buildings. As an organization, the university is composed of departments (one of them built by Eduardo Souto de Moura), autonomous sections, research units, administrative and service facilities, a library (built by

Álvaro Siza Álvaro (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname (see Spanish naming customs) of Visigothic origin. Some claim it may be related to the Old Norse name Alfarr, formed of the elements ''alf'' "elf" and ''arr'' "warrior ...

), a mediateque, a field track, a multisports building with gym, a residential complex, green spaces, ecological spots and parking lots. The rectory (built by

Gonçalo Byrne Gonçalo Byrne, GCIH (b. Alcobaça 1941) is a Portuguese architect. Byrne is responsible for a vast accomplishment of architectural work, and has been awarded with many national and international prizes. In 2005 he was awarded the title of Do ...

) is located in a white building near the campus centre. The campus also has an entire Administration and Accounting Institute, which has its own service facilities and parking lots.

Research

The projects developed by UA are developed under 20 research centres, of many different scientific areas:
Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM)

Center for Research in Higher Education Policies (CIPES)

Aveiro Research Centre of Risks and Sustainability in Construction (RISCO)

Research Centre for Didactics and Technology in Teacher Education (CIDTFF)

Centre of Research and Development in Mathematics and Applications (CIDMA)

Digital Media and Interaction (DigiMedia)

Center for Health technology and Services Research (CINTESIS)

William James Research Center (WJCR)

Centre for Languages, Literature and Cultures (CLLC)

Centre for Mechanical Technology and Automation (TEMA)

GeoBioSciences, GeoTechnologies and GeoEngineering (GEOBIOTEC)

Institute of Telecommunications (IT)

Institute of Biomedicine of Aveiro (IBIMED)

Institute of Electronics and Informatics Engineering of Aveiro (IEETA)

Institute of Ethnomusicology - Centre of Music and Dance Studies (INET-Md)

Research Institute for Design, Media and Culture (ID+)

Aveiro Institute of Materials (CICECO)

Institute for Nanostructures, Nanomodelling and Nanofabrication - Physics of Semicondutors, Optoelectronics and Disordered Systems (I3N-FSCOSD)REQUIMTE – Network of Chemistry and Technology

Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (GOVCOPP)
As a research-led institution, during 2015, 316 research and technology transfer projects were active in UA. 80 of these projects are/were funded by International and European Programmes, of which 27 by the 7th Framework Programme, 13 by the

Horizon 2020 The Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development, also called Framework Programmes or abbreviated FP1 to FP9, are funding programmes created by the European Union/European Commission to support and foster research in the Europea ...

and 17 by the ERASMUS +.

Faculty and alumni

* Catarina Fagundes, windsurfer at

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Jacinta The given name Jacinta is the feminine form of old European masculine name known across the West as * Jácint in Hungarian language * Jacenty in Polish * Jacinto in Spanish and Portuguese. Variants in English or other languages include Hy ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

singer * José Carlos Pedro, researcher at IT, professor,

IEEE The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operati ...

Fellow * Filipe Teles,

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

* Miguel Viegas,

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

* Eduardo Marçal Grilo, mechanical engineer and politician *

Nuno Borges De Carvalho Nuno Miguel Gonçalves Borges de Carvalho from the Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal was named Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 2015 for ''contributions on characterization and design of nonlinear ...

, professor,

Fellow * Miguel Monteiro, paraolympic bronze medal winner and former world recordist of longest

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's c ...

throw

References