Pedro Nuno Teixeira elected University of Porto's new rector for 2026–2030 term
Pedro Nuno Teixeira was elected the 21st rector in the University of Porto's 115-year history on Friday, securing 16 of the 22 votes cast in the University Council, a source told Lusa News Agency.
Who is Pedro Nuno Teixeira?
Born in Porto in 1972, Pedro Nuno Teixeira earned his degree in economics from the University of Porto's Faculty of Economics in 1995. He later served as secretary of state for higher education (2022–2024) under António Costa's Socialist-led government (the 23rd Constitutional Government).
Academic and professional career
The newly elected rector has built his entire academic and professional career in higher education policy. He served as director and scientific coordinator of CIPES – the Centre for Research in Higher Education Policies (2009–2022), vice-rector for academic training and organisation at the University of Porto (2014–2018), and as a consultant to the Portuguese Presidency's Civil House on higher education and science (2016–2021) and on higher education and economic recovery (2021–2022).
Governance agenda
In his platform, obtained by Lusa, Teixeira advocates for "shared governance" at the University of Porto, engaging academic stakeholders—faculty, researchers, students, and technical and administrative staff—through consultation and coordination across institutional levels.
His top priority is preparing the university to meet major ongoing challenges, particularly in technology. He champions lifelong learning and strengthened education as essential for the institution to remain a cornerstone for the city, the region, and Portugal as a whole.
The programme also highlights the need for greater openness to society and more agile, effective management, framing these as part of a continuous improvement process suited to the university's scale and complexity.
Vision for the University of Porto's future
The former secretary of state argues that the university's future lies not in "centralisation and standardisation" but in tailored solutions with targeted support reflecting the unique needs of each faculty.
"The University of Porto should foster shared governance, with the rector's office serving as a driving and coordinating force across the entire university. This should be achieved through clear mechanisms for consultation, debate, and oversight of strategic, scientific, pedagogical, and financial processes—valuing horizontal models that recognise the diversity of scales, practices, and expertise across its organic units," his campaign platform states.
Academic background
Teixeira holds a master's in higher education economics from the University of Twente (Netherlands, 1998) and a PhD in economics from the University of Exeter (UK, 2003). He has been a visiting researcher or professor at Oxford, Berkeley, and Albany universities and is the author, coordinator, or editor of multiple internationally published scholarly works.
The election and competitors
Teixeira ran for the 2026–2030 rectoral term against four other shortlisted candidates: - Salvatore Cuzzocrea, an Italian former rector of the University of Messina (2018–2023) and past president of the Italian Rectors' Conference (2023); - Lasisi Salami Lawal, a Nigerian professor and researcher at Botswana's Federal University of Technology, Minna; - Altamiro Costa Pereira, current dean of the University of Porto's Faculty of Medicine; - Luís Antunes, director of the University of Porto's Centre of Competence in Cybersecurity and Privacy.
The University Council convened today in the Council Chamber at the rectorate to hear the five candidates before electing Teixeira as the successor to António Sousa Pereira.
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