1921-2021: 100 years of Business Sciences

Industrial and Commercial Institute of Coimbra

This Business Sciences School was created 100 years ago, with the birth of the Industrial and Commercial Institute of Coimbra.

On December 5th 1921, the General Direction of the Industrial and Commercial Education determined the creation of this Technical Middle Education School in the city, intending to prepare auxiliary engineers, heads of industry, heads of works, commerce auxiliaries, commerce agents, bookkeepers and accountants.

On October 9th 1971, the Diário de Coimbra newspaper issued the news stating that, according to the National Education Ministry, the conversion of the Industrial Institute of Coimbra into the Commercial and Industrial Institute of Coimbra was foreseen. Six days after this publication, it was approved - under the proposal of the then Minister of Education, José Veiga Simão - the middle education institution of Administration and Commerce in Aveiro and in Coimbra.

Based on the possibilities offered from the wide dimensions of the school complex under construction at Quinta da Nora to build the Industrial Institute of Coimbra, the Commercial section was joined to it - still in Rua Luís de Camões - aiming to give an answer to the training need of professionals linked to this sector. From this fusion, on October 22nd 1971 the Industrial and Commercial Institute of Coimbra was created. The commercial part of the institute came into operation in the academic year of 1972/1973, with the Accounting course.

From Commercial Institute of Coimbra to ISCAC

On December 31st 1974, the industrial institutes were transformed into engineering higher education institutes, by the Decree-Law no. 830. From this transformation, the Industrial and Commercial Institute of Coimbra was divided into two: the Engineering Higher Education Institute of Coimbra (ISEC) and the Commercial Institute of Coimbra.

In contrast to what happened with ISEC - which was transformed into a higher education school - the Commercial Institute of Coimbra remained a middle education school. This situation started to change with the publication of the decree-Law no. 313, on June 26th 1975, that placed it under the General Direction of Higher Education the Commercial Institutes of Porto, Coimbra and Lisbon. Their graduated students were awarded with the bachelor title. Therefore, the Commercial Institute of Coimbra stopped being under the General Direction of Technical and Professional Education and became allowed to award to its students the bachelor title in Accounting.

In the academic year of 1975/1976, the Accounting course got the new designation of Accounting and Administration, being the only training offer of the Commercial Institute of Coimbra. This Institute - which was transformed into the Accounting and Administration Higher Education Institution of Coimbra in 1976 - was located in Rua Luís de Camões until 1996, the year when it moved to the current premises in Bencanta. This has allowed it to improve both in quantitative and qualitative terms: it started to define a strategy of training offer diversification, fostering the teaching staff training and adhering to technological advances, namely at the library level.

On May 6th 1976, the Commercial Institutes of Porto, Aveiro, Coimbra and Lisbon were promoted to the category of Higher Education Schools, by the Decree-Law no 327. Hence, their designation became Accounting and Administration Higher Education Institutes, being allowed to be integrated in the universities by mutual agreement. Although the creation decree considered the bachelor degrees teaching, this only happened from the 1990s on.

The move to Bencanta and the training offer restructuring

From 1976 until 1989, ISCAC offered only one course: the Accounting and Administration bachelor course. The increase of the training offer and, consequently, of the number of students, happened in the academic year of 1988/1989 with the opening of the Specialised Higher Studies Course in Management Control, which granted a level equivalent to a Bachelor Degree. In total, in that academic year, ISCAC had 600 students: an increase of 50 students when compared to the previous year and of 130 students when compared to the academic year of 1986/1987.

After moving to Bencanta, ISCAC started to be able to define the strategy of the training offer diversification, of qualification of the teaching and non-teaching staff, and of the accession to the technological advances so long wished for. Lectures in the new premises started on November  13th 1996 with 1,691 students enrolled. Evolution became evident from the very first day: to the curricular structure of the Accounting and Administration Course it was added the Audit and Business Management branches, widening this way the students' options. In May 1997, the Accounting and Audit and Business Management Specialised Higher Studies Courses were created, both lasting two academic semesters.

The extinction of the Specialised Higher Studies Courses was marked by the Education System Act no. 115, from September  1997, which determined that the polytechnic education was then allowed to award the bachelor and bachelor degree levels.

Aiming to allow a better academic training to students, and since the Polytechnic Education did not foresee the award of the Master's title, ISCAC signed a protocol with the Work and Business Sciences Higher Education Institute - ISCTE. This way, and already in the new premises and in cooperation with ISCTE, the School started to offer the Master's degree in Business Sciences, in January 1997. In the following year, ISCAC started to offer the Accounting and Audit Master's Degree in cooperation with Universidade Aberta.

Training offer evolution

In the academic year of 1998/1999, the two-phase Accounting and Audit, Business Management and Management Control Bachelor Degrees - whose designation has been changed to IT Management in 2000 - started their functioning, this way replacing the Specialised Higher Studies Courses in those areas. The two-phase Bachelor Degrees were organised in two cycles: the first one awarded the bachelor title, and the second one the bachelor degree title.

In the academic year of 2005/2006 the existing courses were restructured and two new bachelor degrees were created: one in Accounting and Public Management; the other in Paralegal Studies and Administration.

With the entry into force of the Bologna Process (1999), it was granted in Portugal that all the degrees had to make their teaching plans adequate until the academic year of 2008/2009 and align the cycle of studies according to the law until 2009/2010. In this context, the existing two-phase bachelor degrees - Business Management; IT Management; Accounting and Public Management; Paralegal Studies and Administration - were adapted to the Bologna model. Therefore, these degrees awarded the bachelor degree title at the end of three academic years.

From this adaptation process, and from 2008 on, other bachelor degrees have been opened. Due to the Bologna Process and to a long demanding process, the Polytechnic Institutes became allowed to also offer Master's Degrees and award the master title - until then only possible at the Universities. As far as ISCAC is concerned, in 2008 a dispatch was issued referring to the Business and Public Auditing and Management Control. In the following year, the same happened with the Master's Degrees in Accounting and Tax Business; in Accounting and Public Management; in Business Management; and in Financial Analysis.

Coimbra Business School

In the academic year of 2007/2008, Coimbra Business School was created, being responsible for the institution's postgraduate and specialised training. The brand - registered on July 23rd 2007 at the Industrial Property of the National Institute - was created to promote the School abroad, with its know-how and its both human and material resources. It aimed to reach a different market and to develop an internal area which allowed to propel and expand both the School's offer and the lecturers' practical skills in Polytechnic Education.

The number of postgraduate and short-duration courses increased exponentially. A vast part of the training started to be directly focused on filling the gaps of the real and concrete labour market needs. Partnerships were developed with companies, organisations and institutions from different sectors of the economic activity, both from Portugal, and from other Portuguese Language Countries Community, namely Angola, Brazil and Mozambique.

On January 2012, the School's identification was uniformised: Coimbra Business School | ISCAC was the new designation and it led the whole institute to the category of Business School of Coimbra, being this way far from its exclusively commercial origin, from the extinguished Commercial Institute of Coimbra.