The University of Aveiro () is a

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

, in addition to providing

polytechnic A polytechnic is an educational institution that primarily focuses on vocational education, applied sciences, and career pathways. They are sometimes referred to as ''institutes of technology'', ''vocational institutes'', or ''universities of app ...

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 Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage of d ...

university, with research departments developing programmes in fundamental and applied mathematics,

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

, telecommunications,

robotics Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...

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

, sea sciences,

materials A 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 ge ...

, design,

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

and

industrial engineering Industrial engineering (IE) is concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, information, equipment and energy. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical, 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 Oliveira de Azeméis () is a city and municipality in the Porto Metropolitan Area of Portugal. Administratively, the municipality belongs to the District of Aveiro. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 68,611, in an area of 161.10 ...

(Higher Education School of North Aveiro). It serves as a pole for the inter-university Doctoral program, along with the universities of

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

and

Minho Minho or Miño may refer to: People * Miño (surname) * Choi Min-ho, South Korean singer and actor known mononymously as Minho Places * Minho (river) or Miño, in Portugal and Spain Jamaica * Rio Minho, a river Portugal * Minho Province ...

. 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 () 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 (). 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 (), 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. 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, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

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 some variety ...

. 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, Itsuki Noda and Minoru Asada). The aim of the competition is to promote robotics and AI ...

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 Eduardo Elísio Machado Souto de Moura (; born 25 July 1952), better known as Eduardo Souto de Moura, is a Portuguese architect who was the recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2011 and the Wolf Prize in Arts in 2013. Along with Fe ...

), autonomous sections, research units, administrative and service facilities, a library (built by

Álvaro Siza Álvaro or Álvar (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname of Germanic Visigothic origin. The patronymic surname derived from this name is Álvarez. Given name Artists * Álvaro Carrillo, Afro-Mexican songwrit ...

), 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 (born 17 January 1941 in Alcobaça) 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 ...

) 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 Europe ...

and 17 by the ERASMUS +.

Faculty and alumni

Catarina Fagundes Catarina Fagundes (born 8 April 1977 in Funchal, Madeira) is a Portuguese sailor. She competed in the Mistral Windsurf Class at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, and achieved the 21st position. She was the first Portuguese female ath ...

, 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 Jacinta is a feminine given name of Spanish language, Spanish and Greek language, Greek origin meaning hyacinth. It is the feminine form of Jacinto (Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese), Jácint (Hungarian language, Hungarian) and Jacek, Ja ...

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

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

IEEE The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE ...

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 (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

* Miguel Viegas,

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

Eduardo Marçal Grilo Eduardo is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the male name Edward. Another version is Duarte. It may refer to: Association football * Dudu (footballer, born 1992) (Eduardo Pereira Rodrigues), Brazilian footballer * Eduardo (footballer, born 1 ...

, mechanical engineer and politician * Delfim F. M. Torres, professor, CIDMA Director * Nuno Borges De Carvalho, professor,

Fellow *

Miguel Monteiro Luís Miguel Brito Garcia Monteiro (born 4 January 1980), known simply as Miguel (), is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a right-back or a winger. He spent the vast majority of his career with Benfica (five seasons) ...

, Paralympic 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 (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

throw

References