ICBAS – School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of the University of Porto (as logistic host of the meeting) in partnership with UPORTO/MNHC-UP – Natural History and Science Museum of the University of Porto.

Founded in 1911, the University of Porto (U.Porto) is a public research university and a leading teaching and scientific research institution. The educational offer of U.Porto – in the areas of Architecture, Arts and Humanities, Engineering and Technology, Exact Sciences, Natural Sciences, Health Sciences, Social Sciences, Sport and Law – is distributed over 14 faculties (organic units). U.Porto is one of the largest producers of science in Portugal, having contributed to almost 25% of all national scientific output in the period 2016-2020. The R&D+i ecosystem at U.Porto is committed to fostering the production of knowledge that responds to today’s main scientific and societal challenges. U.Porto supports open science. Aiming to the recognition of U.Porto also as a reference institution in the field of education, U.Porto promotes ongoing debate and sharing on the most innovative pedagogical practices it encourages.

ICBAS – School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Conceived as a multidisciplinary institution in the life and health sciences, the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, ICBAS), founded in 1975, is one of the organic units of U.Porto. As part of a research university, ICBAS seeks to convey this feature in the training programmes offered. ICBAS offers undergraduate training in Medicine, with the core collaboration of the university hospital Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto, in Veterinary Medicine and in Aquatic Sciences, as well as in Biochemistry, in partnership with the Faculty of Sciences, in Bioengineering, in partnership with the Faculty of Engineering, and in Bioinformatics, in partnership with the Faculty of Sciences and with the Faculty of Pharmacy. At postgraduate level, both 2^nd and 3^rd cycles of study, these areas are deepened, unfolded and expanded in the courses that are offered and which at the present time represent a significant fraction of ICBAS students. Research is conducted in collaboration with diverse research units associated with U.Porto. Currently, ICBAS vision is to make the idea of One Health central to its activities, having competences in the field of human, animal and environmental health, and turning the integration of these competences into a strategy.

UPORTO/MHNC-UP – Natural History and Science Museum
The UPORTO/MHNC-UP (Natural History and Science Museum of the University of Porto) was officially created in 2015 as the outcome of the fusion between the Museum of Natural History and the Science Museum of the U.Porto. UPORTO/MHNC-UP is committed to preserve, promote, study and raise awareness about our natural world, built up through education and research-related activities carried out by U.Porto. The core area is located in the Historic Building of the Rectorate of U.Porto, with a variety of collections of geology, palaeontology, zoology (invertebrates, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals), archaeology and ethnography, botany and science, dating from as early as the 18th century. Together with its headquarters, the UPORTO/MHNC-UP includes the modern Hall of Biodiversity – Ciência Viva Centre, built in the magnificent Botanical Garden of Porto. The Hall of Biodiversity, is a science centre where art, literature and science combine to tell stories about life, fostering a wide range of sensorial experiences, carefully and intentionally crafted with the purpose of celebrating the diversity of life. Herein, visitors encounter an exemplary set of exhibition modules and installations, ranging from mechanical models to the most sophisticated multimedia and audio-visual platforms, inviting visitors to take part in a journey through science, literature and the arts. The UPORTO/MHNC-UP nurtures an outstanding collaboration network involving a wide range of researchers and research centres, both within and outside U.Porto. The UPORTO/MHNC-UP promotes a very dynamic public engagement programme, with a wide range of educational, scientific and cultural activities and initiatives based on the dialogue between art and science and tailored to meet the audiences’ needs and expectations.

The biennial meeting is put together by the Council and the Local Arrangements and Program Committees of the ISHPSSB.