FEUP 
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The teaching of Engineering in Portugal had its origins in the early Nautical School (Aula Náutica), by decree of 30th July 1765. The city of Porto was an important shipping and trade centre, and the mercantile spirit of its inhabitants was early developed. However, those were very troubled days: trade was being adversely affected by pirates who, hiding along the shores of North Africa, attacked the ships loaded with goods. |
To solve this problem, the Business Men of the Porto Market (Homens de Negócio da Praça do Porto) asked the king for permission to build, at their own expense, two frigates of 24 and 30 guns to protect the fleets sailing from the city to the ports in America. The beginning of ship building brought the need to find men capable of commanding and manoeuvring these vessels, which resulted in the founding of the Nautical School in Porto.
Replacing the Naval Academy, by decree of 13th January 1837, the Polytechnical Academy was created in Porto, charged with the training of engineers, naval officers, pilots, traders, farmers, factory managers and artists.
By decree of 21st July 1885, courses of Mining, Civil and Industrial Engineering were organized, as well as the higher course of Commerce, all of them with the duration of six years, four of preliminary studies and two of specialization.
This Academy also prepared students for the Army, Naval, Medical and Pharmacy Schools. After the establishment of the Republic, their first government carried out a reform of higher education, reforming the University of Coimbra and creating two new Universities with pedagogic and administrative autonomy in Lisbon and Porto.
This reform changed the Polytechnical Academy, the first Engineering School in the country, into the Faculty of Science, which was incorporated in the Engineering School. This situation led to the protest of the teachers of Porto voiced by the city representatives, which led to the publication of the law nº 410 of 1915, turning the Engineering School into an autonomous Technical Faculty. This same law determined the division of the courses into Mining, Civil, Mechanical, Electrical and Chemical-Industrial Engineering.
The organization of these courses was reviewed by legislation published on 30th November 1918 and on 29th January 1921. The decree nº 18739 of 26th July 1930 settled the organization of the courses of what we then named the Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto.
Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Polytechnical Academy, the building at Rua dos Bragas was inaugurated in 1937.
Former facilities of FEUP at Rua dos Bragas
Meanwhile, the decree nº40378 of 14th November 1955 established the organization and the curricula of the courses of Engineering taught in Portuguese Universities (Mining, Civil, Mechanical, Electrotechnical and Chemical-Industrial Engineering). This decree attributed to the courses of Engineering the same plan of studies obligatory for the Faculties of Science and the Higher Technical Institute (for the first three years), and for the latter and the Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (for the remaining three years). The Reform of Education of 1970 introduced important changes in the organization of the courses of Engineering which were reduced to five years, and schools began to have autonomy to design their own curricula.
In 1974 the Faculdade de Engenharia took upon the teaching of the five years of its undergraduate degree courses, the first two years no longer being the task of the Faculty of Science.
Meanwhile, in 1970, the undergraduate degree in Metallurgical Engineering was created, later called Metallurgical and Materials Engineering. More recently, the undergraduate degrees in Management and Industrial Engineering (1990) and in Computer Engineering (1994) were set up. Nowadays, FEUP has eight undergraduate degrees to offer.
In 1988, the publication of the law on University Autonomy allowed the Faculty of Engineering to vote its first statute where its administrative, financial and pedagogic autonomy was sanctioned.
Postgraduate education is also one of the areas where FEUP has invested substantially since the creation of the first Master's Course in 1981. From this date on, several similar courses have been created, now numbering ten MSc degrees, covering various fields of Engineering. Furthermore, FEUP offers PhD degrees in all the scientific areas corresponding to the departments and also in the inter-disciplinary areas of Engineering and Engineering Sciences.
The former facilities of FEUP were scanty given the number of students and staff (teachers and other staff) working there. It had a net area of about 30.000 m2.
Nowadays, FEUP has new facilities at the pole II of the University of Porto. With almost three times the previous area, with incomparably superior conditions and quality, it allows a confident look towards the future.
New facilities of FEUP at Asprela
