The University Eduardo Mondlane (UEM) was established in 1968 in Mozambique’s capital city, Maputo, as the ‘Universidade Lourenço Marques’ by the then Portuguese colonial rulers. The university was exclusively focused on the training of Portuguese citizens in areas considered crucial for the local economy, in order to ensure the continuity of the colonial system. In general, local Mozambicans were excluded from training.

Independence for Mozambique was declared in 1975, and the following year the university was renamed the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane and opened to all citizens. The newly free and democratized institution faced with two main challenges first, the course programs had to be transformed in order to meet the actual needs of the Mozambican society-, and there was a substantial lack of Mozambican staff to carry out the programs.

During the first decade of independence, therefore, several faculties and departments closed temporarily pending the availability of qualified lecturers. From 1985 onthe departments reopened one by one. Today the university boasts 11 faculties, including sciences, engineering, medicine and veterinary sciences, as well as six research centers as diverse as African studies, informatics and studies of habitat development. The Historical Archives of Mozambique and the National Museum of Natural History are also housed at the university. There are an estimated 7,000 full-time students currently registered.

Country fact file
Mozambique has a population of 18.8m and an estimated per capita income of $1,200. The literacy rate is 48%, with an estimated 70% living below the poverty line.