The University of Coimbra has been connected to the world through the Internet for 30 years
On the 9th of February 1993, the University of Coimbra connected to the Internet for the first time.
Edmundo Monteiro established the first connections from Coimbra to Lisbon, which connected the UC to the Internet.
© UC | Marta Costa
English version: Diana Taborda
When searching for an article for a research, doctoral or teaching assignment, the most common thing we do is to search on the computer and, in two or three clicks, quickly have the article or document available to work on. It seems unthinkable to wait about two weeks, after submitting a written request to a library, until the desired article arrives by post. Unthinkable, but it was not so long ago that the procedure was carried out in this way. Everything changed with the arrival of the internet. A "digital revolution" that arrived at the University of Coimbra (UC) on the 9th of February 1993, exactly 30 years ago.
It all started with the process of creating university networks, a European initiative similar to what already existed in the United States of America, and which connected universities on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. With the need to also connect European universities to the internet, the project also took off in Portugal and led to the creation of the Portuguese Academic Network. Edmundo Monteiro, full professor at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the UC, was one of those involved from the beginning. He tells us that a circuit was installed and set up to connect Coimbra to Lisbon. "It was something that, at the time, I didn't realise the impact it would have".
What started out as "something very limited" was changing quickly, he adds. "We had email, file transfers and discussion forums. Only later did the web start to appear," recalls Edmundo Monteiro. "And then there was an extremely accelerated evolution that had a brutal impact, in terms of research activities." And it was something, he continues, that was reflected in various areas: "in scientific productivity, in internationalisation, in projects, in contacts. Today, everyone works in a network, with the whole world. In the 1980s and early 1990s, these things were unthinkable. Until we got connected to the internet, things were very slow".
He thinks that the connection of the University to the Internet, gave a very relevant contribution to the UC, in a "world that was completely closed" and that now lives "in an open reality". "In terms of research and of the University activity, in teaching, it had a huge impact, it was a revolution". According to Edmundo Monteiro, "with the appearance of the internet, there was a radical change in our lives, in our way of teaching, of doing research, of relating to one another".
On the 9th of February 1993, at 01:35:06 CET, with the "Subject: VIVAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA !!!!!!!!!", Edmundo Monteiro wrote an email: "The UC is already connected to the European networks !!!!!! (...) We must celebrate". And 30 years later, here we are, celebrating this historical milestone.