The Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (FCUL) is an education and research institution, which aims to promote the quality of the higher education and to develop competitive research units, both at a national and at an international level.
The research architecture of the Faculty of Sciences has a complex structure, both in what regards the relationship between FCUL units and departments and the participation of many other faculties and research institutes.
Research is organised in R&D multi-departmental units, with different names: centres, laboratories and institutes. These units join researchers from different Faculty departments and also include many researchers (about 30%) from other Portuguese and international universities.
The majority of these units are part of the system of R&D centres that are funded and assessed by the FCT.
FCUL R&D units operate in different subject areas and are interdisciplinary in nature. Nevertheless, they may be grouped into main areas of knowledge: Physical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Life Sciences, Earth Sciences, Computer Sciences and Engineering, History and Philosophy of Sciences.
