The Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra (IPC) was created in 1979 in the context of the implementation of polytechnic education in Portugal. Despite its recent history, the IPC inherited the tradition and the experience of major schools, which began to integrate it and contribute to it can be said today as one of the most important public institutions of higher education in Portugal. The Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra has been in operation since 1988, although some of its current schools were providing degrees independently since the 1970s, and even before some were technical or vocational schools. The agriculture school whose origins can be dated back to the 19th century, and the current engineering institute, formerly an industrial school in operation between 1965 and 1974, were technical schools of intermediate education before upgraded to higher education polytechnic institutions.