The Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço (IA)
The IA (Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences) is a national research infrastructure that incorporates a bold vision for the development of Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Sciences in Portugal. It is the largest research unit in this area in the country, one of the scientific areas with the greatest relative impact factor and the highest average number of citations per article for Portugal. IA has a demonstrated ability to conduct major astronomical projects, at all levels of development: scientific and technical definition, instrument concept and design, construction and commissioning and scientific exploration.
The Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto (CAUP)
The IA resulted from the merger, in 2015, of two research units: the Centro de Astronomia e Astrofísica da Universidade de Lisboa (Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics of the University of Lisbon) – CAAUL and the Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto – CAUP (Center for Astrophysics of the University of Porto). The latter corresponded to the research unit FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology – public agency) whose host institution was the Centro de Investigação em Astronomia/Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto – CIAAUP (Research Center in Astronomy / Astrophysics of the University of Porto): a private, non-profit and declared of public utility. Thus, this association started to host the IA, since 2015, as a research unit.
The Porto Planetarium – Ciência Viva Center (PP-CCV)
PP-CCV is owned by the Universidade do Porto, and CIAAUP is responsible for its scientific and operational management. Given the statutory mission, CIAAUP and inherently the PP-CCV, in addition to dedicating itself to scientific dissemination, also works in communication and teaching astronomy, presenting an annual average of 30 000 visitors. The PP-CCV is, therefore, the only center of the Ciência Viva Centers Network, integrated, itself, in a research unit in the scientific area of its intervention – the IA.
Unidade de Ensino das Ciências da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto (FCUP)
The Science Teaching Unit is a support structure, for the management bodies of the Faculdade de Ciências in the mission of promoting the Teaching and Dissemination of Exact and Natural Sciences, including teachers training. The Unit is composed of professors belonging to the Departments of FCUP. In this sense, the physical structure of this unit is disseminated throughout FCUP, in close complicity with the specific activities of each of these disciplinary areas and their teaching. This Unit has a close relationship with the initial and continuous training of teachers, being involved in the first line in master’s and doctoral courses, namely the PhD in Teaching and Dissemination of Science.