Instituto Superior Miguel Torga will from this new academic year partially teach its courses in new facilities in Coimbra's Baixa (downtown), provided by the Municipal Council. The institution's president, Miguel Castelo Branco, stated that this change represents the return of the university to the Baixa and will contribute to the rebirth of the city's historic center, which has been experiencing a phenomenon of population decline.
The transfer will be carried out progressively throughout this year and 2027, with classes held simultaneously at both campuses, on Rua Ferreira Borges and in Celas. Approximately 250 students will be permanently engaged in teaching activities in the Baixa, although between 800 to a thousand students will pass through the new facilities during weekdays. The administrative, academic services, and ISMT management will definitively relocate this month to one of the buildings in the Baixa.
The two municipal buildings on Rua Ferreira Borges were provided free of charge by Coimbra's Municipal Council to the Intermunicipal Community of the Coimbra Region, ISMT's owner, for an initial period of ten years. This concession is part of the municipal strategy to revitalize the Baixa through the attraction of students, faculty, and activities linked to higher education.
The ISMT also intends to animate the area in the early evening and on weekends, with master's programs operating exclusively at the Baixa campus on Fridays and Saturdays, and colloquia, conferences, and seminars scheduled for evening and weekend hours, attracting more people to activities related to knowledge, culture, and civic life.
