The Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities (ACEEU) has awarded NOVA Information Management School (NOVA IMS) the Entrepreneurial University Accreditation, making it the first higher education institution in Portugal to achieve this recognition.
Part of Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, NOVA IMS specialises in Data Science, Artificial Intelligence and Information Management. The school brings together more than 4,300 students from around 100 nationalities, with international students representing approximately 30% of its student body.
The ACEEU accreditation recognises NOVA IMS’s institution-wide commitment to entrepreneurship and its ability to connect education, research and innovation with real-world challenges. Entrepreneurship is embedded throughout the institution, from project-based learning and corporate challenges to applied research, innovation programmes and dedicated support for transforming ideas into new ventures and solutions.
This entrepreneurial approach is reflected in tangible results. Over the past five years, the NOVA IMS ecosystem has generated 60 startups and one spin-off, while more than 2,500 participants have engaged in its entrepreneurship programmes. Through its 17 NOVA Analytics Labs and extensive collaboration with companies, public institutions and other organisations, NOVA IMS also connects teaching and research with the development of data-driven solutions to economic and societal challenges.
“Entrepreneurship has been part of NOVA IMS's story since the very beginning. The school was founded in 1989 to respond to new needs in society and the market, and that same ability to identify problems, experiment, and find new answers still defines how we work.” explains Miguel de Castro Neto, Dean of NOVA IMS. He emphasises that the accreditation recognises entrepreneurship as part of the school’s overall model rather than as an isolated collection of initiatives."
NOVA IMS combines this entrepreneurial orientation with a strong academic and international profile. In 2025, the institution received five stars across all evaluated dimensions of QS Stars. Twelve NOVA IMS professors are included among the world’s top 2% most-cited scientists in the Stanford/Elsevier ranking, while its MagIC – Information Management Research Center holds an “Excellent” rating from Portugal’s national science funding agency, FCT.
For NOVA IMS, entrepreneurship extends beyond the creation of new companies. As Guilherme Victorino, Associate Dean for Value Creation, explains, it is also about creating the conditions for ideas to be tested, developed and applied and about building bridges between knowledge, talent and real-world challenges.
By achieving ACEEU Entrepreneurial University Accreditation, NOVA IMS joins an international community of higher education institutions committed to strengthening entrepreneurship, innovation and impact across their institutions and ecosystems. ACEEU warmly welcomes NOVA IMS to its community and congratulates the institution on becoming the first higher education institution in Portugal to achieve Entrepreneurial University Accreditation.