Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Porto

Medicine, veterinary practice, marine science, biochemistry and bioengineering all meet in this one University of Porto school. The Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar was founded in May 1975, in the energetic aftermath of Portugal’s democratic revolution. It began as an annex to the university’s Rectory and was built around a deliberately broad idea: strong fundamentals, then advanced study, research and innovation.

Its namesake, the Porto physician Abel Salazar, gives the institute more than a name. The school’s guiding thought is that medicine cannot be understood in isolation from the wider world of knowledge. That principle fits a place where future doctors study alongside specialists in animal health, aquatic environments and engineering.

From the pavement, take in the steady flow at the entrance and the practical, working character of the place. This is not merely a medical school: it is a graduate centre for medicine and the life sciences. Its medical teaching includes oncology, public health and mental health, while its partnerships connect students with Porto’s hospital network. The institute’s yellow and blue colours represent the union of medicine and science—a compact emblem for an unusually wide-ranging education.