Independente University

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Independente University (in Portuguese Universidade Independente or UnI for short) was a private university headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal, and founded in 1993 by Luís Arouca, Rui Verde and Amadeu Lima Carvalho. It was compulsorily closed by State education authorities in 2007.^[1]

1 Late days
2 Famous people at UnI
3 See also
4 References

[edit] Late days

In March 2007, UnI was placed under investigation on alleged irregularities on several matters. In April 2007, it was in talks to merge with another private university, the Universidade Internacional.^[2] On 9th April 2007, Portuguese Minister of Science, Technolgy and Higher Education, Mariano Gago, announced the private university would be shut down by the Portuguese Government after the investigation reported serious pedagogical, ethical and financial irregularities.

[edit] Famous people at UnI

José Sócrates, Portuguese Prime-Minister, earned his licenciatura (licentiate) degree in civil engineering from UnI in 1996. Since the outburst of the UnI scandal and loss of credibility of the institution, the media investigated Sócrates' student file finding inconsistencies that raised suspicions of irregularities. State authorities investigated the case and archived the file as the suspictions against José Sócrates turned out to be unfounded. On the other hand, the private university itself was investigated by education state authorities in 2007, which resulted in the compulsory closing of UnI due to lack of academic rigour and teaching quality, along with generalized managerial and financial chaos in the institution.
Alberto João Jardim, President of the Regional Government of the Autonomous Region of Madeira for over 20 years, was an Invited Professor at UnI.[1]
Armando Vara, Portuguese politician, former Minister, and banking administrator.