UTAD was started with the strong purpose of boosting regional development, and it has adopted an active policy of cooperation with the various local and regional actors, which involves permanent intermediation between regional, national and international structures.
It brings together a set of skills and services that are available to the community, specifically companies, local authorities, public organisms, third sector entities and citizens in general. The University has made a strong mark on the cultural life of Vila Real, both through its own initiatives and through its strategic partnerships with the local organisations.
The University also provides a catalogue that represents a valuable communication channel for a wide dissemination of UTAD’s installed and available services: departments, laboratories, services, research units and specialised units. The intention is that the catalogue is a facilitating, dynamic tool for interaction with the whole community, particularly in identifying contact persons and promoting the provision of services.
Although it is still one of the youngest universities in the country, it has won national and international recognition for being an academic centre of innovation and quality, with a strategic vision for the future that also contemplates the development of the region of which it is a part. The concern about regional development has particularly focused on the transfer of knowledge that has an effect on the competitiveness and attractiveness of the area, such as the “Regia Douro” Science and Technology Park and the Vinha and Vinho (Vine and Wine) Centre for Excellence , but also on the creation of spaces for the pre-incubation of businesses and other initiatives, encouraging entrepreneurship and promoting connections to the business world as a potential source of insertion of students in the labour market.