NOVA University administration buildings

NOVA Lancaster for Sustainability

Strategic partnership between Lancaster University and Universidade NOVA de Lisboa

About the partnership

The strategic partnership between NOVA University Lisbon and Lancaster University was formally established in June 2018, when the two institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Lisbon

This partnership explores opportunities for collaborative research, joint teaching initiatives and strategic knowledge exchange, staff development and student recruitment. Under this agreement, all faculties, departments, centres and units of the two partner institutions are able to explore potential areas for collaboration that will be of mutual benefit.

NOVA Lancaster for Sustainability invites both communities to join this virtual space for collaboration. Under each theme, a set of regular events are organized every year. An opportunity to discuss ongoing collaborative research, explore funding opportunities and promote joint teaching initiatives that both ecosystems offer to their faculty.

Lancaster has historic ties to Portugal. In 1986, the President of Portugal, Mário Soares, received an Honorary Doctorate from Lancaster University. The occasion served to celebrate 600 years of the Treaty of Windsor between England and Portugal, the oldest diplomatic alliance in the world still in existence. Close to 200 students from Portugal are currently pursuing degrees at Lancaster.

General Contacts:
NOVA: João Loureiro Rodrigues
LU: Anyka Webb

Key themes of collaboration

This partnership is structured around a mutual concern around global challenges, and under the branding NOVA Lancaster for Sustainability, three main drivers of action have been defined:

  • Global Health
  • Digital Transformation
  • Sustainability

Each collaboration theme is coordinated by faculty from both institutions, the NOVA-Lancaster Champions. They develop the annual agenda and engage both communities in a series of research events and other joint initiatives.

Key themes of collaboration Accordion accordion

In the words of NOVA's Rector and Vice Rector

Universidade NOVA de Lisboa's Rector João Sàágua and Vice Rector João Amaro de Matos visited Lancaster University in January 2020. They had this to say about the partnership between the two ambitious and global institutions.

Posed group photo of all delegates at the Research in Asia Research Event
Research in Asia, July 2019

"A relationship built on bottom up collaboration"

Since it was established, the partnership has promoted collaborative research among some faculty members of both institutions. While several research conferences played an important role to foster a collective agenda, parallel meetings took place, fine tuning the extent of this partnership. A full archive of activity since the signing of the MOU can be accessed via the link below.

The Partnership Since 2018
Logo of NOVA University Lisbon

NOVA University Lisbon

NOVA University Lisbon delivers internationally recognized research and quality teaching that ensures high levels of professional success to its students. Founded in 1973, NOVA is the youngest public university in the Lisbon metropolitan area, with teaching units in Lisbon, Almada, Oeiras, and soon in Cascais. Its nine academic units constitute an incontestable cultural, artistic, academic and technological resource.

Visit NOVA University Lisbon Website

How to stay in touch

To contact us please email nova@lancaster.ac.uk

If you would like to subscribe to our mailing list, please follow the instructions below.

Mailing List accordion

Upcoming NOVA Lancaster Events

Since 2018, three themes have emerged as being particularly relevant to the partnership – global health, sustainability, and digital transformations. Directed by these three themes, NOVA and Lancaster regularly co-organise events to continue growing our community of researchers. Our events are open to anyone with an interest in a specific theme or the partnership in general. To keep informed of partnership news and activities please sign up to the mailing list.

We are currently planning several events for 2021/2022. We will list upcoming events in this section and publicise them via our NOVA Lancaster mailing list.

More Events

The participants of the NOVA Lancaster Winter Retreat.

NOVA Lancaster Winter Retreat in Lisbon

Lancaster’s Language Learning Lab travelled to Lisbon for a two-day Winter Retreat to discuss ongoing collaborative research and to develop new external funding bids with colleagues from Lisbon, Barcelona, Brussels and Toronto.
The project team.

ProPerL2 project website now live

We are delighted to announce the launch of the ProPerL2 project website!
Cindy Ge presenting.

Researchers from Lancaster and NOVA University Lisbon present joint research at workshop in Vienna.

The 2nd edition of the Vienna Portuguese Linguistics Workshop took place on November 16-17, 2023.
NOVA University

Lancaster PhD students join Lisbon Summer School in Linguistics

Our PhD students Sophie Bennett and Cindy Ge participated in the 8th edition of the Lisbon Summer School in Linguistics.
Lisbon Summer School in Linguistics 2023

Registration open: Lisbon Summer School in Linguistics 2023

Registration for the Lisbon Summer School in Linguistics 2023 is now open! Enrolment is open until June 25, 2023.
British Academy logo.

British Academy project: Heritage Languages go to School

Lancaster University is leading an international project that seeks to better understand the factors behind successful bilingualism in childhood, funded by the British Academy.

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