To speak about internationalization at the University of Minho (UMinho) is to speak of one of its main strategic vectors that is unequivocally expressed in its three axes of action - education, research, and interaction with society.
Nowadays, UMinho interacts with more than 400 universities worldwide and, every year, welcomes students from more than 80 countries, from Europe to Asia, from America to Africa, making it a strongly multicultural and cosmopolitan university. Programs such as the Erasmus/Erasmus+, Erasmus Mundus, Leonardo da Vinci or Iacobus made it possible to promote the exchange of students, academic and non-academic staff, to and from UMinho, representing around 1200 flows per year. Soon, three innovative international mobility projects coordinated by UMinho under the Erasmus+ Program, will be launched, which include funding to support mobility to/from 27 partner countries outside Europe, as well as to support the formation of two new consortia: the UNorte International consortium, involving the Universities of Porto and Trás-os-Montes-e-Alto-Douro (UTAD), which aims to promote greater competitiveness of these institutions in privileged research and innovation contexts; and the JAMIES consortium, with the Universities of Algarve, Nova of Lisboa, Porto and UTAD, aimed at supporting the development and modernization of higher education institutions in the countries of the Middle East and South.
In parallel, international students choosing UMinho to do their undergraduate and postgraduate courses already represent 8% of the universe of almost 20.000 students of our University. In fact, UMinho has been heavily investing in the recruitment of students in various parts of the globe, either through participation in international fairs, or through the establishment of relations with secondary schools in other countries, or through contact with their alumni, whom have experienced, in first hand, studying at our institution.
Other indicators of the internationalization of education of UMinho are expressed in the offer of about 40 master and doctoral courses exclusively taught in English, in the numerous postgraduate courses in association, double degree and co-tutelles agreements with universities of international prestige, and, also, in the offer of online courses that allow for certification in the scope of non-conferring degree courses.
Lastly, and as a reflection of the strong internationalization policy, UMinho now belongs to several international cooperation networks, such as the Association of Portuguese Language Universities (AULP), the Centre for Euroregional Studies in Galicia-North of Portugal (CEER), the Compostela Group of Universities (CGU), the Council of Rectors of the Universities of Southwest Europe (CRUSOE), the European University Association (USA), the Tordesillas Group, and the Santander Group European Universities Network (SGroup).
Can Alumni also benefit from the internationalization of the university? Definitely yes. For their postgraduate studies or other courses, to know job opportunities in Portugal and abroad, and, not least, for networking with other Alumni that are scattered around the four corners of the world. Today we have about 55.000 Alumni in our network, 3.000 of which living on all continents and with all kinds of professional trajectories.
Keep in touch. Spread the word. Share your professional path with us. Get involved in the dissemination of our UMinho. Maybe one day we will develop a program of UMinho Ambassadors? Interested? Contact us. Today. UMinho was, is, and will always be your, our, Home!
