Changing from a univer(s)city to a knowledge city: the case of Coimbra

In this paper, we aim at exploring the role played by scientific institutions in the recent socio-economic transformations and development of Coimbra, a medium-size Portuguese univer(s)city, in the path towards the creation of a knowledge city. We argue that, in the 21st century, the century of knowledge society, one of the features that have always distinguished Coimbra, the university, offers to the city a new and unique opportunity for restructuration, reconfiguration and recovery at the national level. Indeed, the evidence of a positive evolution of Coimbra prevails in spite of the shortcomings identified in its organisational capacity. In the last years, Coimbra has registered significant transformations, in its economic structure, with the growth of knowledge-intensive sectors such as health and information technology.