UMa aims to find adequate solutions, within a framework of responsibility, equity, and sustainability, which contribute to the development and affirmation of Madeira and the country in a globalized and dynamic world.
The University pursues scientific research activities, promoting the diffusion and social and economic valorization of knowledge and technological innovation. It guarantees human education at the highest level, in its cultural, scientific, artistic, technical, and professional aspects, conducting academic studies to obtain a degree, a Technical Course, and other courses. It seeks to prepare its students for the challenges of global society and lifelong learning by providing them with scientific knowledge, technical competence, and transversal training.
UMa wants its students to be citizens of the world, creative and enterprising, responsible and professional, tolerant and attentive to the environmental, cultural, and human challenges of a society that is intended to be sustainable and equitable. To this end, UMa promotes and supports actions and programs that contribute to the integration of its graduates into the professional environments and foster its spirit of initiative and entrepreneurship, as well as the mobility of students and graduates, in particular in the European area of higher education.
In terms of relationship with the rest of the society, UMa collaborates with the community, governing bodies, companies, professional associations, and institutions of higher education and research, discovering, disseminating, and applying knowledge, graduating company boards, and conducting research and development projects and offer of specialized services.
It also develops teaching and research policy that takes into account the specificities of the Madeira Region in which is located, collaborating in the formulation of national and regional policies on education, science, and culture, and giving its support on legislative projects concerning these subjects. UM is also an essential element for the deepening of the internationalization of the Region, seeking to contribute to a greater connection to the diaspora and the construction of the Portuguese Language space and the European space in teaching, science, and culture. By its very nature and dynamics, UMa maintains a relationship of commitment and interdependence with the economic, social, and cultural development of the Madeira Region.
Before the existence of the University of Madeira, several educational establishments were already present in Madeira during the 20th century, such as the Instituto Universitario da Madeira, the Instituto Superior de Artes Plasticas da Madeira, and the Conservatorio de Musica da Madeira. In 1977 is founded the Instituto Superior de Artes Plásticas da Madeira, later integrated into the University of Madeira.
Creation, in the Region, of Support Centers from other Universities, as well as the creation of the Escola Superior de Educacao da Madeira. There is also the offering in Funchal of some courses from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, the Portuguese Catholic University, and the University of Minho.
On April 15, 2008, UMa is visited by the President of the Republic, Professor Aníbal Cavaco Silva. The new Statutes of the University of Madeira are approved by the new Legal Regime of Higher Education Institutions. Its homologation takes place on October 9, 2008, by the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Professor Doctor Mariano Gago.
The University Residence Our Lady of Victories opens on February 1st. The University of Madeira, Madeira Tecnopolo, SA, and the University of Carnegie Mellon founded the M-ITI: Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute.
