By signing the "Scientiae Thesaurus Mirabilis", King Dinis created the University of Coimbra (UC), the oldest university in the country and one of the oldest in the world. The document, dated 1290, established the General Studies, which were recognised by Pope Nicholas IV in the same year. The University of Coimbra was founded one century after the birth of the nation. It began its activities in Lisbon, but in 1308 it was transferred to Coimbra, alternating between the two cities until 1537, when it was finally established in Coimbra.

Initially confined to the Royal Palace, the University spread throughout the city of Coimbra, transforming its landscape and making it the University City. It later expanded with the creation of a second campus dedicated to Engineering and Technology, and a third campus dedicated to Health Sciences.

With more than seven centuries of history - almost 735 years old - the University of Coimbra has a unique tangible and intangible heritage, a cornerstone in the scientific culture of Europe and the world, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2013.

The University of Coimbra (UC) has involved in HPC for more than 25 years. The “Laboratório de Computação Avançada” (LCA) of the University hosts the “Navigator” supercomputer and is part of Portuguese National Advanced Computing Network (RNCA). It has provided nation-wide CPU time to scientists through submission of research projects in Portugal. UC has led the portuguese participation in PRACE since its beginning and was the academic partner of the first Portuguese SHAPE project, the PRACE program for promoting HPC usage in industry. The University has had courses in Advanced Computing for more than 15 years, including general HPC courses and GPGPU usage for Advanced Computing. UC is part of the EuroCC Portuguese National Center of Competence.