The University of Coimbra (UC) is the oldest academic institution in Portugal, with 730 years of existence, and constitutes a reference in higher education and scientific research in the country, with excellent academic reputation recognized worldwide. It features 8 faculties and offers 35 degree courses, 123 Master’s and 69 PhD programs, in the areas of Natural Sciences, Engineering and Technology Sciences, Exact Sciences, Social Sciences, Health Sciences and Arts and Humanities. In 2019, the university counted around 25,000 enrolled students, of which 20% were foreigner. UC is committed to both higher education and excellent research (R&I activities), combining a long valuable history (it is World Heritage) with the pursuit for constant improvement and internationalization. It hosts 38 of the Portuguese R&D units regularly evaluated at the national level, the majority intrinsic of the university’s organic units and a few affiliated ones that are legally autonomous private, non-profit associations. Those R&D units are members of the so-called Institute for Interdisciplinary Research of the University of Coimbra (III UC), which fosters research and advanced interdisciplinary education (notably PhD-programs), encouraging the crossing of knowledge and team-building of different areas, in order to assure international recognition of the university’s scientific research. The institute is also responsible for implementing training courses on science-related transferable skills that complement post-graduate education. This secular academia also stands out for fostering knowledge and technology transfer in all areas of study, as reflected in the many entrepreneurial initiatives it spawned, e.g., the Instituto Pedro Nunes (IPN), which is devoted to the incubation and acceleration of businesses and ideas, and several spin-offs and the UC Business, a newly launched structure which aims to transform the University of Coimbra into an essential partner for the business world.