Ana Paula Coelho Duarte will be the next Rector of the University of Beira Interior (UBI), having been elected on 6 June by the institution's General Council. She will be the sixth person to lead the Rectorate of UBI, and the first woman to hold the position.
The elected Rector is 63 years old and has a degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Coimbra. She obtained her PhD in Paper Engineering at UBI, where she also presented her Aggregation Exams in Paper Engineering. She became a Full Professor in 2009.
In addition to her career as a teacher and researcher, she has participated in various bodies at UBI, notably as Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation between 2009 and 2013, having created the Research Coordination Institute, which she also chaired. She was also elected to the first General Council of UBI in 2008 and for the terms beginning in 2016, 2020 and 2024, having headed lists in the first two. She coordinated the Health Sciences Research Centre (CICS-UBI) for two successive terms between 2015 and 2019.
She is currently Vice-President of the Faculty of Health Sciences for Research, Community Projects and Faculty Centre Management, a position she has held since 2017. Ana Paula Duarte is also director of the Doctorate/3rd Cycle in Pharmaceutical Sciences.
She is expected to take office as Rector later this month.