Escola Superior Agrária De Coimbra
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra (ESAC), in English the Agrarian School of Coimbra, is a state-run
polytechnic A polytechnic is an educational institution that primarily focuses on vocational education, applied sciences, and career pathways. They are sometimes referred to as ''institutes of technology'', ''vocational institutes'', or ''universities of app ...
higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...
school of
agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
, based in
Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...
,
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. The oldest of the Coimbra Polytechnical Institute's (IPC) autonomous institutions, it has also IPC's largest campus.


History

The ESAC has a long history in
vocational education Vocational education is education that prepares people for a skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self employed with req ...
and provision of services to the community started in the nineteenth century as the National School of Agriculture (1899), renamed the Regents School of Agriculture (1950), and finally in the 1970s, the Higher Agrarian School of Coimbra (Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra), a state-run
higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...
school of agriculture. It was incorporated into the Polytechnical Institute of Coimbra in the 1980s but preserved wide technical, pedagogical and financial autonomy. It conferred the ''bacharelato'' degree and the ''Diploma de Estudos Especializados'' (DESE) diploma. In the late 1990s, after the upgrading of the Portuguese polytechnical institutions to
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
-conferring institutions (the Portuguese ''licenciatura''), the differences between this polytechnical school and the university institutions were drastically reduced, an achievement that would fully materialize after the
Bologna Process file:Bologna-Prozess-Logo.svg, 96px, alt=Logo with stylized stars, Logo file:Bologna zone.svg, alt=Map of Europe, encompassing the entire Bologna zone, 256px, Bologna zone The Bologna Process is a series of ministerial meetings and agreements b ...
in 2006/2007. Currently, the ESAC awards a 3-year 1st cycle
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
(''licenciatura''); and a 2-year 2nd cycle masters' degree in several fields including
biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...
, food engineering,
organic farming Organic farming, also known as organic agriculture or ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2024 on organic production and labelling of ...
, and
forest engineering Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. The ...
. In addition, ESAC has developed and expanded its own research units and programs.


The campus

The ESAC is located in the urban area of the city of
Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...
, on a campus with strong rural characteristics, with a significant area of farmland, pasture, forest and infrastructure support for a total of 140 ha. It has a vast architectural heritage, architecture typical of the traditional rural location, including a listed building. The natural heritage of ESAC is also known for its quality and diversity: the region's largest
camphor tree ''Camphora officinarum'' is a species of evergreen tree indigenous to warm temperate to subtropical regions of East Asia, including countries such as China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. It is known by various names, most notably the camph ...
, a forest of
oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
s, and woody teixos, a tash, a Sequoia and species protected by the Habitats Directive. There is also a great faunal diversity including amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, which have been identified as species of community interest. This set of semi-natural areas, infrastructure and equipment can be used in training activities,
environmental education Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating discipli ...
and recreation service to the community as the main activities of ESAC focus in teaching, research and services in the areas of
agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
,
biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...
,
forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...
, environment, agro-industries and eco-
agritourism Agritourism or agrotourism involves any agriculturally based operation or activity that brings visitors to a farm or ranch. It encompasses a wide range of activities, including direct-to-consumer sales such as farm stands and u-pick, agricultu ...
.


Research and services to the community

The Centro de Estudos de Recursos Naturais, Ambiente e Sociedade (CERNAS) is ESAC's
research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...
centre. CERNAS develops scientific and technological knowledge in the areas of
natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...
,
food science Food science (or bromatology) is the basic science and applied science of food; its scope starts at overlap with agricultural science and nutritional science and leads through the scientific aspects of food safety and food processing, informing ...
, environment and
sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...
, based on multidisciplinary, cross sectoral and horizontal development, promoting research, dissemination of knowledge, training, scientific qualification and technology.


Sports and student life

The Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra has a notable
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
department, usually known as
Agrária Agrária is the rugby union sports team of the students' union of the Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra (Agrarian School of Coimbra), based in Coimbra, Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Pen ...
. The rugby team has played in the main Portuguese leagues. The students' union is the Associação de Estudantes da Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra (AE ESAC) which was founded in 1982 by students.


Students' Association

The Student Association at ESAC was created in 1982 when a group of students of the school decided to form the Association of Students of the Higher School of Agrarian of Coimbra (AE ESAC). Since then, AE ESAC has never stopped. There have been a number of conferences, conferences, meetings, fairs and exhibitions that have taken place, in addition to the nuclei that he has formed, and which demonstrate the openness that the Association has always had in welcoming new ideas and new projects. The Association of Students is elected annually among one or more candidate lists, which must obey two rules: to be students of this school and to be members of AE ESAC. At present, the ESAC Student Association is made up of 25 students from all courses. Throughout the year it is the duty of AE ESAC to receive all students and, above all, to defend their rights, both at the level of the Board of Directors, the Pedagogical Council and the Assembly of Representatives, and the teachers, without, however, making them forget their duties.


Notable personalities

*
Luís de Matos Luís Manuel Curcialeiro Godinho de Matos (born 23 August 1970) is a Portuguese magician. In 2013, he was a co-winner of the "Golden Grolla" alongside Lu Chen (magician), Lu Chen and Dynamo (magician), Dynamo. On 19 October 2013, he received "The ...
, (born 23 August 1970), a Portuguese magician. Alumnus and former teacher at ESAC.


See also

*
Agrária Agrária is the rugby union sports team of the students' union of the Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra (Agrarian School of Coimbra), based in Coimbra, Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Pen ...
*
Higher education in Portugal Higher education in Portugal is divided into two main subsystems: university and polytechnic education. It is provided in autonomous public and private universities, university institutes, polytechnic institutes and higher education institutio ...


References


External links


Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra
(Portuguese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Escola Superior Agraria de Coimbra Agricultural universities and colleges Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra Buildings and structures in Coimbra