Mission
The ISTA – ISCTE-IUL School of Technology and Architecture promotes the education of skilled professionals capable of responding to the major challenges created by the modern information society, and practicing Architecture and Urbanism in an innovative way, in symbiosis between technology and culture.
This advanced training is grounded in our expertise in the fields of Architecture, Urbanism and Information Science and Technology, and is achieved through a varied set of courses that promotes versatility and the capacity for renewal in our students.
ISTA has currently about 2000 students, divided between 15 undergraduate, Master's and PhD courses with day-time and after-work (evening) schedules, as well asseveral other post-graduate courses. These courses were developed following the recommendations of the leading international professional associations of the relevant fields, such as the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery), and the guidelines set by the European Commission Directive on Recognition of Professional Qualifications, which originated in the Advisory Committee on Education and Training in the Field of Architecture. The quality of our courses has been certified both at national and international levels by the A3ES (Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education in Portugal) and the ENAEE (European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education).
The courses offered by ISTA have a strong connection to the associated public and private sectors; this relationship is demonstrated by the fact that our curricula are continually updated in response to market needs, and by our various collaborations in teaching and research activities. This connection also contributes to an excellent employment rate of our students, which reaches 97% according to the latest statistics by the DGES – Portuguese Directorate-General for Higher Education. The quality of our students is also shown by the prizes that they have been awarded, both in fields of information technology (ANACOM, European Commission, etc.) and architecture (SECIL University, Larus/Jornal Arquitecturas, etc.).
Our courses rely on a highly qualified international teaching staff distributed over three departments that includes over 100 professors, 82% of which have PhDs. This teaching body is highly motivated and interdisciplinary; its members have strong connections to the business environment and participate in and coordinate national and international research and development projects. Our programmes are further complemented by collaboration with Iscte professors of management and the social sciences, as well as professional specialists in the areas of instruction.
ISTA also develops high-quality research, performed not only at the two research centers hosted by the school, which have high scientific productivity rates and competitive funding levels, but also in collaboration with several leading companies and research centers, both in Portugal and abroad. This leads to the incorporation of advanced technical and scientific developments into our courses, exposing our students the best research and development practices.
The ISTA – School of Technology and Architecture at Iscte is a place of choice for creating and disseminating knowledge in these disciplines that relies on a distinctifying relationship with the surrounding social and business environments, as is the trait of Iscte. We invite you to enroll in one of our many high-quality courses, either to begin or complement your training in these fields, and in that sense, hope to contribute to your personal and professional fulfillment.
Carlos Sá da Costa
School Director