ISEC Lisboa - Instituto Superior de Educacao e Ciencias

Founded in 1991, ISEC Lisboa is a private, non-profit polytechnic higher education institution located in Lisbon’s Lumiar district. Recognised as an institution of public avail, our institution stands out for its highly qualified teaching staff and a strong commitment to academic excellence. Our programmes are designed to combine theoretical knowledge with hands-on experience, ensuring that students develop practical skills alongside critical thinking.

Academic Portfolio

ISEC Lisboa offers a broad programme across fields such as:

• Education
• Graphic Arts, Design, Multimedia and Communication
• Data Science
• Aeronautics, Tourism & Aviation
• Health Technologies
• Environment and Sustainability
• Business & Administration
• Hospitality Management
• Protection & Security

From undergraduate to postgraduate specialisations, these are offered under flexible regimes (full-time, part-time, and online).

Campus life at ISEC Lisboa is supported by modern facilities: library, labs, pedagogical restaurant, social spaces, student housing, and an optometry clinic. Services like psychological counselling, academic and career support, and international mobility foster both academic and personal growth.

Strategic Leadership Governance

At ISEC Lisboa, our shared vision drives teaching, research, and innovation, guided by long-term goals focused on academic excellence, relevance, and societal impact.

This vision is carried forward by the Board of Directors, in close collaboration with the Executive Boards of the three Schools:

• School of Education and Human Development
• School of Communications, Arts and Creative Industries
• School of Management, Engineering and Aeronautics

Together, they align academic and research efforts, by setting priorities, encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration, and fostering a culture of quality and innovation.

Our governance model emphasizes collaboration and shared responsibility. Internal stakeholders - students, faculty, researchers, and staff - shape institutional decisions through councils, committees, and project teams.

External stakeholders - including industry partners, public institutions, municipalities, and international partners - connect ISEC Lisboa to broader social and economic contexts. Through strategic partnerships, joint initiatives, and advisory roles, they help ensure that our research and educational activities remain relevant, impactful, and aligned with real-world challenges.

Within this framework, research and innovation are centrally coordinated by the General Directorate for Research and Development, which supports the development of research projects and partnerships across the institution, while the Scientific and Technical Committee ensures the academic quality and relevance of proposals and research outputs.

Together, these structures and stakeholders contribute to a dynamic and forward-looking academic environment, where knowledge is created, shared, and applied to generate meaningful impact.

High-Impact Projects

ISEC’s research mission is further illustrated by several high-visibility, publicly documented projects, either led by the institution or involving its active participation. Notable examples include:

• ZEEUS – Zero Emissions Entrepreneurship for Universal Sustainability, an EIT HEI-funded initiative that empowers students, researchers, and professionals in addressing climate change, energy transition and digital transformation.
• Coordinating Member in the UNESCO-backed UNITWIN “The City that Educates and Transforms”, fostering knowledge networks to support educational governance in line with the UN SDGs.
• CECAM – Pedagogical Excellence Centre in Cinema and Media Arts enhances the skills of higher education teachers in Portugal through innovative, digitally driven pedagogy. Focused on the arts, it applies cinema and media methodologies to modernise teaching and foster institutional change through knowledge transfer and innovation.
• LCA CARE (Life Cycle Assessment – Collect, Analyse, Report and Evolve) is led by ISEC Lisboa with support from INOVA+. The project unites universities and SMEs from Portugal, Spain, Germany, Lithuania, and Bulgaria to develop an AI-based tool and training programs that help agri-food SMEs reduce their ecological footprint.
• Teaching to Be, an Erasmus+ KA3 initiative aimed at promoting teacher well-being and professional development in eight European countries.

Sustainability and Social Responsibility

ISEC has aligned its strategy with the UN Agenda 2030 through a formal Sustainability Policy, a dedicated Action Plan and a Climate Adaptation Strategy. The institution’s Social and Environmental Responsibility Office runs initiatives like volunteer programmes and solidarity campaigns.

International Collaboration and Engagement

ISEC Lisboa holds the Erasmus+ ECHE, enabling around 70 international institutional partnerships across Europe including Spain, Turkey, Italy, Germany and Poland. Through a different range of bilateral and multilateral cooperation agreements worldwide, our institution generates meaningful cross-border exchanges in education and research.

Employability and Industry Integration

ISEC offers tailored career support and collaborates with the robust network Know Now

Know How, featuring over 150 institutional partners to bridge academic learning with regional and national labor markets.