The Department of Computer Engineering of the University of Coimbra (DEI.UC) inaugurated, in January 2024, the Computer Museum Center: a space dedicated to the exhibition and preservation of the history of computing and information technologies at DEI.UC.
Its first exhibition, “Do ENER ao Espaço” (From ENER to Space), it’s a homage to the first computer designed and industrially produced in the country, the ENER 1000, created at the Department of Electrical Engineering in Coimbra. The ENER project began in 1980 and, in 1983, received the 1st Prize for innovation at the National Meeting for the Development of Electrical and Electronic Industries (ENDIEL). The project suffered several changes and in 1985 it was replaced by a more evolved version, the UNIC, also commercialized in Portugal. This was the project that gave rise to Xception, “a fault injector that quickly simulated real faults”, technology that was later applied to NASA satellites. The ENER project had a direct influence on the creation of reference companies in this area of Coimbra’s local tech ecosystem, such as Wit Software and Critical Software. Critical Software sponsors the exhibition “Do ENER ao Espaço”.
For all those interested in technology and the preponderant role it plays in modern society, the Computer Museum Center is a mandatory stop.
Address: Pólo II, in the Computer Engineering Department of the UC, block C, floor 4.
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Free entrance.
Map and Directions
Contacts
