CITY PROFILE: AVEIRO, PORTUGAL

Aveiro has a population of about 78.000 and hosts the headquarters of the Baixo Vouga Region (NUTS III) that gathers almost 400.000 inhabitants from eleven municipalities. Aveiro is surrounded by salt-flats, beaches and lagoons and the city center is crossed by water canals. It has a strategic location between the two main metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto but also within the axis Aveiro-Madrid with easy access due to the railway and road infrastructures. Its port has also an important function for the regional development. Presently, Aveiro is a modern administrative, seaport, industrial, university and touristic urban center with a growing economy that brought new shapes to the city life. 

Aveiro has always been considered as a digital cluster and a territory of innovation. It is home of one of the top-100 universities in Europe less than 50 years old, of the R&D centre of one of the continent largest telecom companies and of several innovative firms both in digital and traditional sectors.  Once better known for the ceramic sector, Aveiro has since become the first “Digital City” in Portugal, back in 2003, and is currently involved in the main projects in the field of 5G and of smart cities, having just launched a new Creative Science Park. All these dynamics are only possible due to the existence of solid local innovation ecosystem with the presence of a strong network of partners.