They come from all over the world, but mainly Europe and Portuguese-speaking countries. The main reason is to pursue their studies, but the sunny climate, the language or the opportunity to experience life in a different country are also factors that prove attractive to the many foreigners enrolling in Portuguese universities. “The way you seem to learn new things every day is great”, says Ingrid Montfort, a French graduate who took part of her course in Portuguese Language, Literature and Culture at the Universidade Nova, in Lisbon. “It was the best place I could imagine to study”, she adds, “because I believed the specialists in Portuguese culture and literature would be based in Portugal’s capital and I wasn’t wrong.” She also knew that teachers would not “make it easier” for her, forcing her to progress quickly. For Ingrid, the quality of Portugal’s higher education is “good, like in France, but the difference is that classes are more formal.” She is not alone in feeling this way. At Universidade do Porto, which has the highest number of foreign students in Portugal, 10.89% of the student body comes from other countries. In Coimbra (see photo), where the country’s oldest university is based , that percentage reaches 20.4%.