University of Porto 
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The University of Porto (U.Porto) was founded on the 22nd of March 1911. It was based on two higher education Institutions created in the 19th Century: the "Escola Médico-Cirúrgica" and the "Academia Politécnica". By that time the mathematician Gomes Teixeira was elected the first Rector. |
In the beginning the U.Porto integrated the Faculty of Exact Sciences (Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry and History and Natural Sciences), the Faculty of Medicine (with an affiliated School of Pharmacy) and the Faculty of Commerce, which, in practice has never been operational. The Faculty of Sciences integrated a School of Engineering.
Presently about 28.000 students (of which more than 3,500 at post-graduate level) study at the 15 schools that, with a high level of autonomy, are part of the University.
Offering more than 60 graduate courses in all major fields of study and more than 120 Master courses, the University employs more than 2.000 teachers (most of which hold a PhD) and 1.200 technical and administrative staff.
The University infrastructures are located in three different areas (“pólos”), including schools, university halls of residence and sports facilities. There are also other Institutes or University departments all over the city and in other cities nearby.
The University of Porto carries out high quality research in all fields of study and has 50 research units, 4 of which are associated laboratories, which were awarded the grade "Good" by the Foundation for Science and Technology.
The development of strong links with the community has been one of the major concerns of the University. So much so that the “Fundação Ciência e Desenvolvimento” has been created recently as a partnership of the U.Porto and the town hall. This foundation is responsible for the management of cultural facilities that are vital to the city life: the Planetarium and the Teatro do Campo Alegre.
The commitment to internationalisation is another driving force in the development of the U.Porto. Thus the University takes an active part in several university cooperation groups and networks and establishes cooperation protocols with Universities all over the world. Other aspects which account for the international positioning of the U.Porto is the increase of student flows within the scope of EU mobility programmes (in 2004/2005 more than 500 foreign students studied at the U.Porto and 600 students of the U.Porto spent a study period abroad), the exchange of teaching staff (around 100 teaching staff flows in 2004/2005) and researchers, the participation in inter-university research projects and the involvement of the Institution in cooperation projects, both with Brazil and the African countries.
Within the scope of its quality performance, the U.Porto has been playing an active role in international activities related to the assessment and financing of higher education, which are both essential to determine national role models in these fields. Therefore, it is a priority for the U.Porto to position itself as an Institution recognised internationally, aimed at providing training in the 2nd cycle (as according to the Bologna Declaration) and post-graduate training.
