Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Coimbra

The Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Coimbra (ISEC) is an higher education polytechnic institution of engineering, based in Coimbra, Portugal. It belongs to the Polytechnical Institute of Coimbra, although with a great level of administrative, financial, and pedagogic autonomy.

History

Its origins backs to the creation of the Industrial Institute of Coimbra "(Instituto Industrial de Coimbra)" created in September 1965 as a non-higher education institute of vocational education.

Before 1974 and the approval of decree Decreto-Lei 830/74 of 31st December 1974, this current polytechnic school, was not a higher education institution. It was an industrial school of vocational education until 1974.

It was integrated into the polytechnic subsector in 1988, and incorporated into the newly created Polytechnical Institute of Coimbra. It conferred 3-years "bacharelato" degrees in several technical engineering specializations, until the late 1990s. At this time new legal decrees were adopted by Portuguese State (Administrative Rule 413A/98 of 17 July 1998), and it started to award 3 + 2 "licenciaturas bietápicas" ("bacharelato" plus one or two extra years, conferring the "licenciatura" degree - a degree that had been awarded exclusively by the universities). In the mid-2000s ISEC adopted new more selective admission rules which were imposed to every Portuguese higher education institution by the State, excluding for the first time in its history the applicants with negative admission marks (in Portugal admission marks to higher education institutions are based on a combination of high school marks, and results of the entrance exams, and competition is based in a "numerus clausus" system). However, in many cases, like other polytechnic courses from several other institutions of its kind across the country, it started to require admission entrance exams in fields not directly related with the course (for instance, an electrical engineering or computer engineering course allows n biology entrance exam instead of mathematics and/or physics, unlike what is seen in most universities for the same fields). This is the main reason many engineering courses awarded by several Portuguese polytechnic institutions and a few universities, are not currently accredited by "Ordem dos Engenheiros". In other polytechnic fields outside ISEC, like in ISCA accountancy and management institute, history or geography entrance exams are allowed instead of mathematics and economics, unlike what is seen in most university courses in similar fields.

After 2006, with the approval of new legislation and the Bologna Process, ISEC, like any other polytechnic or university institution of Portugal, is legally able to provide a first 3-year study cycle, known as "licenciatura" plus a second 2-year cycle which confer the master's degree (in some cases this higher degree may be awarded in cooperation with a partner university). This late changes are under development, the curricula of many courses are changing, other courses are being discontinued, and totally new innovative courses are being gradually introduced.

Facts and figures

*Currently, there are about 3000 students in ISEC.
*ISEC has night classes for workers which is a unique characteristic of most polytechnic institutions in Portugal.

1st cycle courses ("licenciatura")

* Biological Engineering (beginning 2006/2007, new "Bologna course")
* Civil Engineering
* Chemical Engineering (discontinued course since 2006, see Biological Engineering)
* Computer Engineering
* Computer Engineering (European Course)
* Electrical Engineering
* Electrical Engineering (European Course)
* Electromechanical Engineering
* Mechanical Engineering

2nd cycle courses ("mestrado")

*None, as of 2006/2007

Famous alumni

*José Sócrates, Prime Minister of Portugal
*André Sardet, musician and singer. "(dropped out)"

ee also

*list of colleges and universities in Portugal
*Higher education in Portugal

External links

* [http://www.isec.pt/ Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Coimbra]
* [http://www.deis.isec.pt/ Computer Engineering Department]
* [http://www.dee.isec.pt/ Electrical Engineering Department]
* [http://www.deq.isec.pt/ Chemistry Engineering Department]
* [http://www.dec.isec.pt/ Civil Engineering Department]
* [http://www.dem.isec.pt/ Mechanical Engineering Department]
* [http://www.ae.isec.pt/ Student Union]