The University of Algarve (UAlg; ), founded in 1979, is a Portuguese public higher education institution located in the southernmost region of mainland

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...

, having its headquarters and two out of its three campuses in Faro (namely the Gambelas and Penha) and another campus in

Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro (district), Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2022 was 63,079 in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão. In ...

. It has around 10,000 students, 20 per cent of whom are

international International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, from more than 90 nationalities, with Brazil being the most representative country of origin for those foreign students.

History

Founded on 16 January 1979 when its foundation was voted in the

Portuguese Parliament The Assembly of the Republic (, ), commonly referred to as simply Parliament (), is the unicameral parliament of Portugal. According to the Constitution of Portugal, the parliament "is the representative assembly of all Portuguese citizens". Th ...

, the University of Algarve results from the union of two preexisting institutions, the University of Algarve (created by Law number 11/79 from 28 March 1979) and the Polytechnic Institute of Faro (created by Law 513-T/79 from 26 December 1979), which makes it somewhat different from most universities given that colleges and schools (university ''faculdades'' and polytechnic ''escolas superiores'') of both systems, co-exist, and it was also the only Portuguese university created by law. In 1982, the first rector of the university, Gomes Guerreiro (1982-1986) was appointed, followed by Lloyd Braga (1986-1990), Montalvão Marques (1990-1993), Alte da Veiga (1993-1997), Adriano Pimpão (1998-2006), João Guerreiro (2006-2013), António Branco, rector since 2013, followed by Paulo Águas. Following the approval of the Universities Autonomy Law, the Assembly of the University of the Algarve, comprising the representatives of academic and administrative staff and students of all the faculties and schools, approved the Statutes in 1991, which received approval by the Ministry of Education. In 2001, the first University Statute amendment was published in the Portuguese government official gazette. Since its foundation to the 2010s, the university witnessed a significant growth in terms of student population, modern facilities and the quality and diversity of programs on offer. The

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

of the state funded University of Algarve opened its doors to its first 32 new students in September 2009.

Students and staff

The university student population is about 10,000 and operates over 40 graduate and 68 postgraduate programs (approximately 52 MSc and 16 PhD), counting with around 700 permanent teaching and research staff that developed a significant number of research projects and

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

, enhanced also by both the research work produced by more than 120 fellowship grant holders focused on R&D&I and the university

business incubator A business incubator is an organization that helps startup companies and individual entrepreneurs to develop their businesses by providing a fullscale range of services, starting with management training and office space, and ending with venture ...

which is a source for entrepreneurial business assistance and

seed funding Seed money, also known as seed funding or seed capital, is a form of securities offering in which an investor puts capital in a startup company in exchange for an equity stake or convertible note stake in the company. The term ''seed'' suggests ...

for the development of

startup companies A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship includes all new businesses including self-employment and businesses tha ...

Cultural and sports activities

The Student Union of the University of Algarve (AAUAlg) is a centralized representative body of the students, founded on 1 October 1997. Before then there were six independent smaller student associations at the university representing each school or college of the University of Algarve. Sports activities are under the auspices of the

students' union A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizat ...

in collaboration with the university and the Student Support and Welfare Services. UAlg students run a

university radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

station as well as a

theatrical troupe Theatrical troupe ( French: ''troupe''), sometimes referred to as an acting company, is a group of theatrical performers working together. They may work in repertory other types of theatres, and may take performances on tour. They are not the sa ...

. The Students Union Sports Department promotes sports activities from salsa to hip-hop, from tai chi and yoga to bujinkan, from basketball to football. Sports Department of the Student Union activities such as canoeing, windsurfing and sailing are free of charge for UAlg students at the Nautical Sports Centre at Faro Island (''Centro Náutico da Ilha de Faro''). Competitive sports include handball, women’s futsal, women and men’s volleyball and men’s rugby. Federated teams (district championships) are active in men and women’s basketball, futsal and football. The AAUAlg has also a competitive

esports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...

department. The Student Union also organises: * the Semana Académica (Student Academic Week) in May; * the Sports Festival in September, in the streets of downtown Faro, with exhibitions and workshops on sports activities; * the Snow Campus, a winter event for skiing and snowboarding; * the Sports Exchange Programme, with national and international teams; * the Academic University Sports Federation tournaments, such as the Open Tennis, Volleyball and Beach Rugby tournaments; the Non-Federated National University Championships; * the University Student Union Mini Half-Marathon.

Portimão branch

The

branch of UAlg, 70 km to the west of Faro's UAlg headquarters, awards degrees in business management and tourism as well as technical specialization courses in accountancy and post-graduation in

real estate appraisal Real estate appraisal, home appraisal, property valuation or land valuation is the process of assessing the value of real property (usually market value). The appraisal is conducted by a licensed appraiser. Real estate transactions often require ...

& management.

Gallery

File:FaroUniversidadeEntrada.jpg, Entrance to UAlg's Gambelas Campus, Faro File:FaroUniversidade4.jpg, Buildings in UAlg's Gambelas Campus, Faro File:FaroUniversidade5.jpg, Buildings in UAlg's Gambelas Campus, Faro File:FaroUniversidade2.jpg, Buildings in UAlg's Gambelas Campus, Faro

References