The University of Coimbra (UC) is an European partner institution of the Bakeng se Afrika consortium. UC is a Portuguese public HEI with more than 700 years of experience in education, training and research. UC is a member of several university networks worldwide (Coimbra Group, Utrecht Network, European University Association, SYLFF Network, Association of Portuguese Language Universities, Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie, Ibero-American University Association, Mediterranean University Association, Coimbra Group of Brazilian Universities, Tordesilhas Group, etc.) and its activities are carried out in close cooperation with international partners and stakeholders, including collaborative research, business partnerships, and cultural, scientific and technical exchange. UC is a leader in higher education and is a research and development (R&D) institution which pursues a policy of continuous improvement, ensuring high standards of teaching and research/technology, as well as being an active participant in the development of the economic and social fabric of the country.

The University of Coimbra is divided into eight different faculties, comprising about 25 000 students. The Faculty of Sciences and Technology (FCTUC), to which the Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology belongs, is the largest by number of professors and students, awards the highest number of academic degrees, and manages more classrooms and research units than any other in the UC. The UC’s strategic plan includes "the internationalization is the definition and integration process of an international and intercultural dimension in teaching, research and community relations as a means of developing the quality and relevance of the mission and Institutional vision.”

Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology (LFA)

LFA, remodelled in 2014, belongs to the Centre for Functional Ecology, located in the Department of Life Sciences. LFA has 24 members that develop research related to the biological profile (ancestry, sex, age, and stature), taphonomy, post-mortem interval, trauma, research in burned and non-burned human skeletal remains. LFA hosts the XXIst Century Identified Skeletal Collection (CEI/XXI), an important resource for teaching and research with over 300 individuals. LFA have been also developing a collection of human partially burned remains comprising till now of 40 individuals. Collaborations with the Service of Imagiology of the CHUC Hospital provides a database of living individuals enabling retrospective research. LFA laboratory is also equipped with a NextEngine 3D Scanner, a SCANIFY Handheld 3D Scanner, a MicroScribe 3D digitizer, a Stereoscopic Microscope with CMOS (3.0 Megapixel Camera), a DSLR camera and handheld X-ray device. 

UC is promoting and implementing the project with hosting/training postgraduate students and staff members from South Africa and in sending students to South African universities. UC takes also part in workshops on forensic anthropology, such as the Data Science Workshop and the Bone Trauma Workshop, organised and hosted by LFA in 2019.

More information

	Contact person: Prof Eugénia Cunha
	University of Coimbra website
	Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology (LFA) website
	Bakeng se Afrika on LFA website