Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, as public higher education institution, has as mission to serve the society at the local, regional and global level, through the progress and dissemination of knowledge and understanding between cultures, societies and people.

Research at NOVA has been growing and developing, both at quantitative and qualitative levels. NOVA University Lisbon hosts 40 Research and Development Units (R&D), 24 of which are research partnerships between NOVA and other national institutions.