AESE Business School opens new Porto campus to strengthen presence in Northern Portugal

AESE Business School, the oldest business school in Portugal, has officially opened a new campus in Porto, marking a strategic step to intensify its activity in the North of the country. Although the institution has been active in the region since the 1990s, the new campus reflects a stronger commitment to proximity with local companies and alumni based in Northern Portugal.

According to AESE’s Dean, Maria de Fátima Carioca, the expansion is driven by the need to bring executive education closer to business leaders who often struggle to prioritise continuous training due to the demands of daily operations. In an economy with structural fragilities, she argues, proximity and relevance are key to encouraging lifelong learning among managers and entrepreneurs.

The Porto campus will offer most of AESE’s general management programmes, excluding the MBA, as well as selected sector-specific courses already identified as relevant for the region. The school is now considering the development of new programmes designed specifically for the Northern business ecosystem.

Celebrating its 45th anniversary, AESE maintains its founding mission of developing business leaders with ambition and a sense of purpose, while adapting its methodologies to a changing world. The new campus in Porto is presented as both a continuation of this mission and a strategic investment in the future of executive education in Northern Portugal.