International Relations Unit

The International Relations Unit (IRU/DRI) was created in the 1980s to meet the mobility challenges in higher education that emerged with the founding of the European Union. DRI is the service of the University of Coimbra (UC) responsible for promoting internationalisation and international cooperation in all areas of the University, from teaching to research, with a team of 18 staff members who place the UC in the world and bring people from all over the world to the University of Coimbra.

DRI's front office is located at the University Campus I, in Casa da Lusofonia, a space where students, researchers, faculty and staff are given individual and personalised assistance, and where they can present their problems and find solutions, such as finding accommodation, getting help with student visas or residence permits, or even learning how to get around the city.

In the same Campus, on the top floor of the College of São Jerónimo, we find DRI's back office, which supports the work carried out at Casa da Lusofonia, while also conducting all of the International Relations Office's work. From China to Brazil, to all over Europe, the team of 18 staff members handles the mobility of the UC Community on a daily basis. The team guides faculty, researchers, staff and students arriving and departing from the University of Coimbra under mobility programmes and over 900 cooperation agreements with higher education institutions around the world. However, DRI is not only responsible for Mobility at the UC, it is also the service responsible for organising of all international relations undertaken by the University of Coimbra.

The main activities of the International Relations Division include bureaucratic support, welcoming students, faculty, researchers, technical staff and refugees, managing international protocols, Erasmus programme applications, funding programme applications and engaging with UC alumni.

At the moment, DRI also has other challenges, such as the implementation of Erasmus Without Paper - where the UC is the Portuguese university with the most advances in this process - or the opportunity to contribute to the creation of university consortia in Europe.

The University of Coimbra has over 900 cooperation agreements with higher education institutions worldwide. These partnerships take people from the University of Coimbra to new institutions around the world, as well as bringing people of all different nationalities to the UC.

As for the challenges of welcoming to our University people who have had no prior contact with the Portuguese-speaking world, the DRI team tries to show them the major advantage of knowing and speaking the Portuguese language, namely via the courses available at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Coimbra.

Everyone who arrives at UC under mobility and cooperation programmes is welcomed by DRI. This reception is always tailored to the needs of each individual, so that the integration into the UC community is successful.

In addition to this support from the team of the International Relations Office, the Casa da Lusofonia is also the headquarters of the several international student associations at the University of Coimbra.With the COVID-19 pandemic, DRI faced new challenges, like all services of the University of Coimbra. DRI's main concern was to follow up with students, carrying out weekly monitoring for both incoming and outgoing students. Many people needed support due to border closures, some wanted to return to Portugal and couldn't, or wanted to leave Portugal and couldn't. But not only the challenges of the pandemic affected and still affect DRI's daily life. The commitment to a greener mobility, the digital transition, the participation in European consortia and attracting international students to the UC are also matters that are regularly present in the work routine of the DRI team, a group of very dedicated people with a strong and solid knowledge in the field of international relations.

The UC International Relations team works every day with the mission of taking the UC to the world and bringing the world to the University of Coimbra, through several initiatives and cooperation programmes, building new bridges between our University and institutions all over the world.

Content Production and Editing: Catarina Ribeiro and Inês Coelho, DCOM

Image and Video Editing: Marta Costa, DCOM

Image Editing: Sara Baptista, NMAR

^{Published on 15.06.2021}