Universidade Katyavala Bwila was originally formed as the Instituto Superior de Ciencias de Estado de Benguela in the early 1990s to enhance access to higher education in Angola’s Academic Region II.
It attained university status in 2009.
Students can study across a range of subjects including maritime law, law, medicine, mechanical engineering, computer science, economics and earth sciences.
The majority of students study on the main campus in Benguela, a few hundred yards from the railway station, while the Lobito campus hosts the Higher Polytechnic Institute.
A new campus is under development at Baia Farta, 20 miles from the main site.
Postgraduate courses started in 2018, with a new masters in computer engineering launched in 2023.
Many of the universities international agreements are with Portuguese universities.