Universidade de Aveiro

The University of Aveiro (UAveiro) is a public foundation under private law whose mission is to create, share and apply knowledge, involving the entire community through teaching, research and cooperation with the surrounding environment, in order to make a difference for individuals and society.

Founded in 1973, UAveiro paved the way for the creation of teaching opportunities in various areas of knowledge and today is widely recognized as one of the most innovative universities in Portugal, for the quality of its teaching and research and for its cooperation with regional and national business.

Every since the beginning, UAveiro has been committed to innovation and quality in the three pillars of Education, Research and Cooperation. It is based on a global project built on innovative, lifelong learning, supported by critical and independent thinking, high quality education, accessible to all, and influential research, creative ventures that contribute significantly to knowledge, both locally and globally.

Its organization and matrix structure, which encompasses the university (16 departments) and polytechnic (four schools) subsystems, stimulates the exchange of knowledge and the crossover of the most varied areas of knowledge, promoting a useful proximity between teaching and research. Such a structure fosters interdisciplinarity and flexibility in the organization and management of its activities and objectives, and fosters an openness to society and close links with the local business environment.

Internationalization is of utmost importance to UAveiro since its foundation. In only 48 years, the university has grown from a small educational institution to a community of 19 thousand people of 90 different nationalities. It is also known for providing a welcoming, supportive and rewarding academic environment for students, teachers, researchers and technical, administrative and management staff.

The University of Aveiro has three teaching centers located in the districts of Aveiro, Águeda and Oliveira de Azeméis, but its connection to the region goes far beyond these geographical boundaries. Aveiro is one of the most beautiful regions in the country and the third Portuguese district with the largest number of municipalities, which is why it is so different, diverse and rich.

As a member of the European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU), UAveiro is part of the project to create a European University, which seeks to represent a paradigm shift in higher education.

Rector’s Message

The University of Aveiro was founded in 1973 with the mission to create, disseminate and apply knowledge to transform society.

With a simple and linear structure, with neither faculties nor artificial barriers between areas of knowledge, the University of Aveiro provides a rich and varied academic environment, which allows us to extract all the potential from disciplinary diversity and knowledge integration.

In our University, we value talent, stimulate curiosity and creativity, exploring the interaction between the university and polytechnic subsystems and emphasizing both fundamental research and its multiple applications.

Internationalization and the relationship with the region and businesses have always held a prominent place in our priorities. We see ourselves as a university with ambition and international vocation, although rooted in this region, contributing effectively to its growth and growing with it.

As part of ECIU University, we are designing and exploring innovative solutions to the qualification needs that are already felt at present and that will shape our future, both in initial and lifelong training.

We are aware of the challenges and demands of a rapidly changing world – we will always need quality education, a diversified training offer aligned with the needs of the different target audiences that converge on higher education today, flexible and agile training models, and we need a model of education, research and innovation with no barriers, focused on the crossover and sharing of knowledge.

This is the vision of a university facing the future. This is the vision of the University of Aveiro.

Ph. D. Paulo Jorge Ferreira