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Introduction

History Founded in 1973, the University of Minho welcomed its first students in the academic year of 1975/76. At present, the University is renowned for its competence and quality of teaching staff, excellence in scientific research, wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses offered and for its high level of interaction with other institutions. For these reasons, UMinho has a central role in the region and is an important reference for the country and a recognised partner in the European and global scene. Located in the north of Portugal, the University has a campus in Braga and two others in Guimarães, Azurém Campus and Couros Campus. The University's organisational structure is flexible and conducive to innovation and interdisciplinary research on emerging topics. The teaching and research units are the basic structure of the University: Teaching and research units - Schools of Architecture, Sciences, Medicine, Law, Economics and Management, Engineering, Psychology, Nursing, and Institutes of Social Sciences, Education and Arts and Human Sciences; Research unit - Research Institute for Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics (I3Bs). The courses and research projects have a strong international reputation. UMinho is a targeted research university, committed to the value chain of knowledge, in other words: Research, Development and Innovation. It also points to the socio-economic environment, with many successful partnerships in research, cultural and socio- economic development projects. Internationalisation is a strong commitment and international activities are quite intense, not only within the EU and Portuguese Official Language African Countries (PALOP), but also with several other countries on different continents. The academic year of 2010/2011 was marked by the introduction of a wide range of courses which extended to distance-learning programmes and evening classes. This educational offer had a great social impact and opened the University to a new public, within the framework of demand and quality which has always been the hallmark of this Institution. Mission “The University’s mission is to create, spread and put knowledge into application, with free thinking and pluralism as its core values. Our goals are to promote higher education and to contribute to shape a model of society based on humanistic principles, in which knowledge, creativity and innovation contribute towards growth, sustainable development, well-being and solidarity”. Goals The fulfillment of the mission referred to in the preceding paragraph is undertaken in an international reference framework, where scientific research plays a leading role in close articulation with teaching, by pursuing the following goals: a) achieve the highest level of education, in our ethical, cultural, artistic, scientific, technical and professional dimensions by providing a diversified range of educational options in a proper educational environment. We also aim to enhance the activity of our teaching staff, researchers, non-teaching and non-research staff, in addition to personal, social, intellectual and professional development of our students, thus contributing to lifelong learning, and active and responsible citizens. b) to do research and to participate in scientific institutions, and events, for the sake of the permanent quest for excellence as well as creativity as a source of innovative and unique solutions and also to seek responses to the major challenges faced by society; c) to transfer, exchange and enhance scientific and technological knowledge through the development of suitable solutions, community service projects and continuous training and development support on the basis of reciprocal enhancement and the promotion of entrepreneurship; d) to promote the development of activities in order to provide access to and enjoyment of culture by all people and groups, whether internal or external to the University; e) to promote the cultural, scientific and technical exchange of students, teaching staff, researchers, non-teaching and non-research staff as well as national and international institutions and organisms. These exchanges are conducive to educational and research partnership-based programmes and contribute to international cooperation by placing a special emphasis on European countries besides Portuguese-speaking countries which is beneficial to a multilingual environment at the University; f) to interact with society by fostering people's understanding of culture along with the analysis of solutions to address the main problems of everyday life. We also aim to set up partnerships in furtherance of social and economic development in international, national and regional contexts; g) to contribute to the social and economic development of Minho which includes the development of knowledge, and the protection and spread of its natural and cultural heritage; h) to promote the University’s institutional sustainability and competitiveness in a global context. Infrastructure UMinho has a set of infrastructure and services providing support to students and teachers, and responds to the various needs of both. UMinho students can find everything they need on campus from 8:00AM to 10:00PM: libraries, computer labs, wireless broadband Internet connection, reprographic services, banks, bookstores, cafeterias, canteens and reasonably priced restaurants. The three campi, one in Braga and the other two in Guimarães, have a total of 30 libraries including two general libraries (in Braga and Guimarães) with about 300.000 books and 600 seats, a Classic Library (with more than 300.000 books dating from 1450 to 1900), and several specialised libraries (over 100.000 books) and 17.000 scientific journals accessible through the Digital Library b-on. There are also three sports halls, three canteens (4.000 meals/hour), a snack bar, two grills, a restaurant and 14 cafeterias. The number of beds available in the four halls of residence is quite high (847 and 542 beds in Braga and in Guimarães, respectively), all the spaces fulfil the necessary conditions for academic success and well-being of the students, including Wi-Fi, dining rooms, cafeterias and canteens, study and recreation areas, and laundry. Timely payment of scholarships to all students is ensured by UMinho; scholarship holders are given priority to housing in residence halls. Also worth mentioning are the cultural and sports activities developed by students' associations, musical ensembles and theatre and poetry groups among others. Students can also count on medical and psychological support and access to more than 50 types of sports.