92 HEALTHCARE
UNIVERSIDADE DE AVEIRO
exploring new areas of knowledge
At just 42 years of age, the Universidade de Aveiro
(UA) is a youthful institution with a reputation for
its unconventional attitude and innovative spirit.
UA is based in the Portuguese city of Aveiro –
around 60 km south of Oporto – and has
enthusiastically sought out new capacities for
learning since it was founded in 1973. The resulting
success is evident: it was placed in the 69 th position
in the 2015 Times Higher Education Ranking –
universities under 50.
Currently the home of around 15,000 undergraduate
and postgraduate students, 12% of them
international, UA specialises in research-led,
interdisciplinary programmes. Having introduced the
first study programmes in Portugal in Electronics
and Telecommunications Engineering, Regional and
Urban Planning and Integrated Teacher Education,
among many others, UA is widely considered as
something of a pioneer.
“We have always focused on new areas of knowledge,”
says Manuel Assunção, Rector of the University. “In fact,
we always look towards the future, identifying emerging
needs and the connections between different areas
of study.” This progressive mindset is underpinned by
cutting-edge research, and UA has achieved particular
excellence in Materials Science, Environment and Sea,
Music, Public Policies and Biomedicine. Since the
university places great emphasis on innovation, compa-
nies such as Siemens, Nokia and Portugal Telecom
have research and development labs on campus.
UA also supports promising entrepreneurs through
its, exponentially growing, business incubator, which
offers businesses access to researchers. While many
universities have similar centres these days, UA
established its spin-off activities more than a decade
ago, and its new Creative Science Park, developing
in partnership with regional authorities, is helping to
build additional links between industry and academia.