Universidade Lusófona

Mission Statement

Universidade Lusófona is the largest private university in Portugal and is part of the private and co-operative subsystem of Portuguese higher education.

The name of the University derives from the expression "Lusophony", which designates the common cultural and linguistic space demarcated by the use of the Portuguese language. Universidade Lusófona sees itself as the institution responsible for the scientific, cultural, social and economic development of this geographical and linguistic area with more than 200 million inhabitants.

Civil society and citizens in general expect universities and higher education institutions to be one of the central centres for the development of their countries and their culture. In the midst of various constraints and adversities, and a national legal, economic and social framework that is not always favourable, higher education, and in particular private higher education, has played this role in a generally positive way in Portugal over the last thirty years.

Over this period, Universidade Lusófona has managed to establish itself as the largest Portuguese higher education institution in the private and co-operative sector.

Today, the demand for higher education is at an all-time high and higher education institutions are faced with increasingly varied and diverse audiences. Many of these students represent different audiences, such as mature students or students of foreign origin, who pose new and exciting challenges for institutions.

At the same time, higher education institutions are increasingly feeling the need to broaden the scope of their activities, no longer focusing exclusively on the production and accumulation of knowledge, but are more actively concerned with the distribution and circulation of knowledge among the network of institutions and organisations that gather around them.Thus, alongside students and professors, who were the sole objects of university activity in the past, companies and other organisations are increasingly emerging as one of the central vertices of university activity and a core pillar of its growth and sustainability.

Massification, internationalisation, innovation and entrepreneurship are all terms that have become part of the vocabulary of university life and which it is important for each institution to internalise in its day-to-day activities.

Transformations in the profile of institutions' target audiences have been accompanied by profound changes in teaching and training models, particularly those resulting from the implementation of the Bologna Declaration. Above all, today higher education institutions are called upon to clearly define their role in society and their contribution to the social, economic and social development of the community in which they operate.

Above all, today higher education institutions are called upon to clearly define their role in society and their contribution to the social, economic and social development of the community in which they operate.Universidade Lusófona's central mission is to contribute, through science, innovation and teaching, to the scientific, cultural, economic and social development of Portugal and all Portuguese-speaking countries and to their inclusion in a dynamic and highly competitive European area of science and higher education.In order to fulfil these objectives, the University carries out training, research and service activities in the most diverse areas of knowledge relevant to society, and constantly and actively seeks to constitute itself as a valid and indispensable partner for all those who, like it, believe that higher education and knowledge are the main driving forces behind the development and progress of our society.

International Role

Universities are, by nature, international, both because of their universal knowledge and because of the circulation of students and scientists. However, the "internationalisation of higher education" is not a recent phenomenon, but today the European Higher Education Area provides a favourable ecosystem for its development. The future of higher education in Europe depends on co-operation between universities and the ability to attract European and international students.

The Lusófona University (ULusófona) has a vocation and strategic interest in transnational cooperation, based on educational and exchange relations with European and international Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and, in particular, with Portuguese-speaking countries. Belonging to the same language community has always strengthened the bonds of thought and creative production, and dialogue between peers. The dynamisation of external relations with a multidisciplinary, cross-cutting nature and the deepening of knowledge and exchange between different cultures, as well as cultural activities that connect with society, further enhance this matrix of openness at ULusófona.
This is how this internationalisation programme includes the consolidation of existing protocols and academic and institutional cooperation with associations of universities and HEIs from different countries, even beyond the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) and Europe, attesting to ULusófona's international recognition.The main benefits and reasons for pursuing internationalisation are to improve the quality of teaching and learning, and to train students to live and work in a multicultural, diverse and global world.It is up to us to identify opportunities for cooperation in these ecosystems, through alliance projects and strategic partnerships with HEIs, associations and national and international organisations.

– Strengthen its relations with stakeholders in Portuguese-speaking countries;

– Active participation of the unit in consortiums apply for funding under relevant relevant EU funding;

– Strengthen the capacity to attract young international academics and international master's and doctoral students and doctoral students;

National Role

Institution at the service of its audiences and the community: Universidade Lusófona as a university that offers an increasingly engaging and positive experience to all its students, teachers and staff, permanently contributing to the enrichment of the community in which it operates.
From 2021 to 2025, Universidade Lusófona must strengthen its impact on the community and society. The impact of the University's activity results first and foremost from the volume and quality of the
results of its teaching, research and community liaison activities. To achieve this
concrete actions must be taken in the following areas:
OFFER OF DEGREE AND NON-DEGREE PROGRAMMES:
– Creation in the period of at least 3 new Erasmus Mundus European Master's programmes;
– Creation of two pilot courses under the new status of "European degrees";
– Consolidation of the project to create the FILMEU European University – European University of Cinema and Media Arts
and Media Arts;
– Creation of a training programme based on the micro-credential model, which will support its own catalogue of lifelong learning
catalogue of lifelong learning, which should account for at least 10% of the University's annual income.
of the University;
– Creation of 3 new distance learning courses;
– Accreditation of 5 new degree courses in different innovative and needy areas, such as criminology; fashion design; data sciences or ergonomics;
– Creation of 5 new professional master's programmes, primarily in the areas of business sciences andinformation technologies;
– Investment in new training areas in the fields of health and human and animal welfare;- Creation of 3 new 3rd cycle programmes

Main Focus

Lusófona University is a leading provider of Film and media education in Portugal with campus in the country two main cities: Lisbon and Oporto. Lusófona University is also the Coordinator of FilmEU – The European University of Film and Media Arts (www.filmeu.eu ) one of the sixty “European Universities”  – and the only one in the film and media sectors – reshaping with the EU support the future of higher education and research in Europe. Lusófona is a comprehensive university with education and research activities across several scientific domains from health sciences to engineering, from the social sciences to business and management. Arts and Media represent a core aspect of the university activity. The University has a very strong international profile that directly derives from its mission’s focus in the development of the Portuguese speaking countries, but also the high international profile of its education, research and innovation activities. The University's key units in the domain of CCSI include the Film and Media Arts department and the research unit CICANT – centre for research in communication and media arts. These structures are very active across the quadruple helix in the Iberian Peninsula region and in Europe and currently promote several projects targeting CCSI development in the region and the deepening of the relations between education, research and innovation in CCSI in Europe. The University is a member of NEB – The New European Bauhaus, an active participant in several E+, Horizon and EIT initiatives.