Politécnico do Porto

It was founded in 1852 , during the rise of Portuguese liberalism, by virtue of an idea of ​​progress: Portugal, a country with a predominantly rural structure and services, needed to take a step forward. It was Fontes Pereira de Melo, Minister of Public Works, Commerce and Industry, who launched the first public industrial education system, based on the idea of ​​education for development, where our headquarters, the Escola Industrial do Porto was one of the two first, in confrontation with the Polytechnic Academy, whose reference was the elitist, academic and rhetorical model of the University of Coimbra, which, unable to respond to emerging needs, was being challenged by the most enlightened intellectuals.