Job search. Portugal's economy includes strong tourism and hospitality (countrywide), call centres and shared services (Lisbon and Porto have major BPO hubs), tech (Lisbon as one of Europe's growing tech ecosystems with Web Summit hosted there annually), pharmaceuticals (Hovione, Bial), automotive components, and traditional sectors (textiles, footwear, wine, cork — the last with Portugal as world leader).
Major sources:
- IEFP (Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional) (iefp.pt) — public employment service portal
- NetEmpregos (net-empregos.com) — leading Portuguese job board
- Sapo Emprego — broad job aggregator
- LinkedIn — strong in Lisbon and Porto for tech and skilled positions
- Indeed Portugal, Monster Portugal
- EuraXess Portugal — researcher and academic positions
- EURES for the EU-wide market with Portuguese reach
- Tech Job Portugal, Landing.Jobs Portugal — sector-specific tech
Portuguese CV expectations: 2 pages, often with photo, formal tone, comprehensive education and language list. Cover letter standard. Personal connections (rede de contactos) are influential.
Studies. Portugal has 14 public universities, 20 polytechnic institutes, and various private institutions. Major institutions: Universidade de Lisboa, Universidade do Porto, Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Lisbon, with Nova SBE for business), Universidade de Coimbra (one of Europe's oldest), Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Universidade do Minho, Universidade de Aveiro, ISCTE-IUL.
Application for non-EU students through the Estatuto do Estudante Internacional track for first-cycle (bachelor's), via the institution's own platform for second and third cycles. Each university manages its calendar; main intake autumn semester with deadlines spanning April–July depending on institution.
Tuition fees for non-EU international students: typically €1 250–€7 000/year at public universities depending on programme; private universities charge significantly more. Many programmes available in English at master's and PhD level.
Scholarships: Fulbright Portugal for US-Portugal exchange, FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) for doctoral and postdoctoral research, Erasmus Mundus at EU level, institution-specific scholarships especially for CPLP-country students.