Aveiro has a population of about 78,000 and is home to the headquarters of the Baixo Vouga Region (NUTIII) that comprises almost 400,000 inhabitants in eleven municipalities. Aveiro is surrounded by salt-flats, beaches and lagoons and the city centre is crisscrossed by water canals. It is strategically located between the two main metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto, makes up one end of the Aveiro-Madrid axis, and is easily accessible due to the railway and road infrastructures. Its port has also a significant impact on regional economic and social development.
The city’s main industries are ceramics, and software development, and it plays an important role as the R&D centre for the former national telecom monopoly. The founding of the University of Aveiro, directly connected with this R&D centre, has played an important role in the social and economic development of our region. Though young, the university and the growing economy of the region have been changing Aveiro significantly.
The University of Aveiro (UAveiro) is a public foundation under private law whose mission is to contribute to and develop graduate and postgraduate education and training, research and cooperation with society. UAveiro is one of Portugal’s 14 public universities. It was founded in 1973 and paved the way in the creation of teaching offers in several knowledge fields. Today, UAveiro is widely recognized as one of the most innovative universities in Portugal, the quality of its teaching and research and for its cooperation with regional and national business.
Its organisation and matrix structure, encompassing University (16 departments) and Polytechnic (four schools) subsystems, stimulates knowledge exchange and cross-contamination between knowledge fields, promoting a useful proximity between teaching and research, which results in a very appealing message for national and international students. Such a structure fosters interdisciplinarity and flexibility through the organisation and management of its activities and objectives, as well as openness to society and close links to the local business environment.
Internationalization is of major importance to the UAveiro since its foundation. In just 45 years the university moved from a very small institution into a community of 15 thousand students, collaborators, researchers and teachers, coming from 90 different nationalities.
UAveiro is located in Aveiro, one of the most beautiful regions in the country and the third Portuguese district with the largest number of municipalities (19), which is why it is so different, diverse and rich. Located in the central part of Portugal, Aveiro combines tradition, nature and modernity perfectly. The main influence on the city is the Aveiro lagoon, which gives it a unique feature and makes it one of the river and water marvels on the Portuguese coast.
Benefitting from all the advantages of a big city, Aveiro offers the quality of life of a medium sized city, and is a pleasant place to live and work. Situated on the Atlantic coast, Aveiro has a typical coastal climate, dominated by sea breezes and with extensive sandy beaches, which are only 10km away from the city and are easily accessed by car, bus or even bicycle.
The University of Aveiro has three teaching hubs located in the municipalities of Aveiro, Águeda and Oliveira de Azeméis but its connection to the region goes far beyond these geographical borders.
As a member of the European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU), UAveiro is part of the project of creating a European University, which seeks to represent a paradigm shift in higher education.
| City of Aveiro | University of Aveiro |
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| Economic Development and Entrepreneurship Division Cais da Fonte Nova 3810 – 200 Aveiro Portugal |
Department of Social, Political and Territorial Sciences Campus Universitário de Santiago 3810 – 193 Aveiro Portugal |
| Contactperson: Carla Semedo Economic Development and Innovation Division |
Contactperson: Filipe Teles Pro-Rector |
| Phone: +351 234 406300 |
Phone: +351 234 370 200 |
| E-mail: csemedo@cm-aveiro.pt |
E-mail: filipe.teles@ua.pt |
| Website (City): www.cm-aveiro.pt |
Website (University): www.ua.pt |