The School of Health of the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal (ESS/IPS) was created in March 2000, by the Official Gazette No. 61/2000, Series I-A, of March 13, and was inaugurated on November 6 of the same year. Since then, it has established itself as a benchmark institution in higher education in health, consistently contributing to the qualified training of professionals, scientific development, applied research and the provision of services to the community.
Since 2000, ESS/IPS has played an active role in the transformation of health, through a diversified training offer, which includes undergraduate, postgraduate, master’s and other advanced training courses, geared to the needs of health services, populations and territories. Its training activities are based on a humanistic, scientific, technical, ethical and culturally sensitive vision, seeking to prepare professionals capable of responding to the contemporary challenges of health, quality of care, innovation and community intervention.
Throughout its history, ESS/IPS has consolidated its national and international prestige, based on the quality of its teaching, the competence of its teaching staff, its links with research and its strong articulation with real contexts of professional practice. This has been reinforced by partnerships with health institutions, hospitals, primary health care, local councils, private social solidarity institutions, non-governmental organizations and other public and private entities, enabling a permanent rapprochement between the academy, the services and the surrounding community.
Internationalization is also a strategic dimension of ESS/IPS, expressed in the mobility of students, teachers and technical staff, participation in international projects, academic cooperation programs and higher education networks in health. These experiences contribute to the scientific, pedagogical and intercultural enrichment of the academic community, favoring the sharing of good practices, the development of global skills and the external projection of the institution.
ESS/IPS has thus established itself as a school committed to training competent, critical and responsible health professionals, to national and international cooperation and to active intervention in the community, contributing to a more qualified, humane health system that is closer to its citizens.
