NOVA University Lisbon (NOVA) will launch a new campus of Faculty of Science and Technology (NOVA FCT), dedicated to aerospace engineering, on a 20-hectare site adjacent to Cascais Municipal Aerodrome. The deed, signed this Friday, 4th July, marks the beginning of a project aimed at strengthening education, research and knowledge transfer in the aerospace sector.
“This new campus will also be the birthplace of a pioneering concept in the national context: a ‘university airport’ — a space where academic training, scientific research and real-world experimentation converge with air mobility, advanced engineering and sustainability. A place where people learn, research, innovate and fly,” said José Júlio Alferes, Dean of the Faculty, during the ceremony. “NOVA FCT firmly believes that the future is built together — that universities, local authorities and businesses must work side by side, with a shared vision and common ambition. That is what today represents: the creation of a long-term platform for collaboration, serving students, researchers, companies, the region and the country,” he added.
This new NOVA FCT unit will be the University’s fourth presence in the municipality of Cascais.
According to João Sàágua, Rector of NOVA, represented at the event by Pro-Rector José Branco, “NOVA, through NOVA FCT, aims to place Portugal among the countries seriously investing in the aerospace sector as a pillar of sovereignty, disruptive innovation and future development. This land entrusted to us is more than soil — it is fertile ground for ideas we want to see grow, take flight… and perhaps even reach orbit. We are ready to honour the trust placed in us by Cascais City Council and by our many partners with hard work, integrity, ambition and results.”
This new campus will further strengthen NOVA’s positioning in cutting-edge engineering fields and contribute to the economic and social development of a region with significant growth potential.