Polytechnic University of Leiria: Designing the Future Through Knowledge, Innovation and Citizenship
Article
The Polytechnic University of Leiria (IPLeiria) is a Portuguese public higher education institution, located in the midwest of the country and defined by its commitment to applied research and high-level professional training. Guided by a mission to produce and disseminate knowledge while fostering cultural and socio-economic advancement, promoting innovation, entrepreneurship and community engagement, IPLeiria serves as a vital catalyst for innovation and critical thinking within the regional, national and international landscapes.
The institution operates through a decentralized campus model across three strategic cities in the, comprising five specialized schools: School of Education and Social Sciences (ESECS), School of Technology and Management (ESTG) and School of Health Sciences (ESSLei), in Leiria, School of Arts and Design (ESAD.CR), in Caldas da Rainha and School of Tourism and Maritime Technology (ESTM), in Peniche. The IPLeiria ecosystem also counts, among many other, with Research and Development Laboratories and Innovation Hubs.
Central to the student experience at the Polytechnic University of Leiria is a robust focus on the development of transversal skills and the cultivation of an active European and global citizenship. The institution recognizes that in an increasingly interconnected world, academic success must be paired with cultural intelligence, linguistic proficiency, and commitment to the values of inclusion, equity, democracy and sustainable development.
IPLeiria advocates that modern higher education is inextricably linked to cooperation with other institutions. In addition to an extensive and diverse network of partnerships in the areas in which IPLeiria conducts research, development, and innovation, ranging from diverse areas of industry to cultural and artistic institutions to institutions in the fields of health, social intervention, and education, in Portugal and abroad, the institution actively promotes European and global citizenship through a comprehensive internationalization strategy. The now longstanding participation in diverse key actions of the Erasmus+ program remains a cornerstone of this effort, providing students and staff (academic and other) with the intercultural competences and linguistic proficiency necessary for the global labor market and globalized society.
A notable example of this commitment is the Euro4VET project hosted in IPLeiria by ESECS. In this project, ESECS/IPLeiria was responsible for creating and piloting, at the end of September and beginning of October 2024, a training course for teachers from partner vocational education and training (VET) institutions on the history, values and institutions of the European Union. Several internal and external key experts were invited as speakers to strengthen the perspectives and information conveyed, enriching the course. IPLeiria/ESECS was also responsible for organizing and running, in September and October of 2025, the project’s virtual competition for VET students from the partner institutions - the EU Skills Virtual Competition. This was one of the highlights of the project and the culmination of a learning journey for the students involved in the pilots of the training course developed in Euro4VET for them. The final prize for the winning teams was a trip to Brussels that will take place in February 2026, to visit European Union institutions.
As another important internationalization effort, IPLeiria is a co-founding member of the RUN-EU (Regional University Network – European University) alliance, which takes IPLeiria to a new era of European higher education. Through innovative initiatives like Short Advanced Programmes (SAPs) and the RUN-EU Student Council, faculty and students engage directly with real-world societal challenges alongside peers from across the continent. These experiences also contribute to foster a profound sense of shared European identity and social responsibility, empowering those involved to act as conscious, inclusive, empowered, and forward-thinking leaders within their communities.
By bridging regional innovation with international cooperation, IPLeiria is dedicated to forming inclusive, highly skilled, socially responsible, and globally-minded people and professionals capable of steering the future toward sustainable and equitable development, not only in the region but also wherever its graduates choose to live and work in the future.