Instituto de Educação da Universidade de Lisboa

Their core work

IE-UL is the education research institute of the University of Lisbon, focused on teacher education, education policy, and school systems across Europe. They study how education systems prepare teachers, how youth transition into the labour market, and how schools can engage communities through science education. Their work bridges educational theory with policy-relevant research, producing evidence that informs teacher training standards, lifelong learning strategies, and school governance models.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their early H2020 work (2015-2019) concentrated on formal teacher education systems — doctoral-level teacher training, school leadership, and European education policy comparison. From 2022 onward, they shifted toward community-facing education: open schooling models, responsible citizenship, and socio-scientific issues that connect classrooms with real-world environmental and social challenges. This represents a move from studying education systems internally to redesigning how schools interact with society.

IE-UL is moving from institutional education research toward participatory, community-connected schooling models — making them a strong fit for future projects linking science education with citizen engagement.

How they like to work

IE-UL operates exclusively as a consortium participant, never as coordinator, suggesting they contribute specialized education research expertise to projects led by others. With 48 unique partners across 17 countries from just 3 projects, they join large, diverse consortia — typical for education policy research that requires cross-national comparison. They are a reliable specialist partner rather than a project driver.

Despite only 3 projects, IE-UL has built a broad European network of 48 partners across 17 countries, reflecting the comparative nature of education research that demands multi-country participation. Their network is pan-European with no visible geographic concentration.

What sets them apart

IE-UL brings deep expertise in how European education systems actually work — from teacher training pipelines to school governance — grounded in comparative cross-country research. For consortium builders, they offer a Portuguese anchor for Southern European education data combined with strong pan-European research credentials. Their recent pivot to open schooling and socio-scientific learning makes them particularly relevant for projects connecting formal education with environmental or social challenges.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EDiTE-EJD
  Their flagship project (EUR 715K, 75% of total funding) — a European Joint Doctorate that placed IE-UL at the heart of a multinational teacher education research network.
• COSMOS
  Most recent project (2022-2024) marking a strategic shift toward open schooling and responsible citizenship, connecting education with environmental and security themes.