Its aim was the creation of a technical school of vocational education, whose purpose was to facilitate the ongoing industrialization process set up by Pereira de Melo.
The education of a large number of skilled industrial technicians in several areas, was one among many innovative reforms Pereira de Melo idealized as Minister.
In 1911 it was split into two institutions of higher education: the Instituto Superior Técnico (engineering); and the Instituto Superior de Comércio (commerce/finance - today ISEG - Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão of the Technical University of Lisbon), later, in 1930, combined with other higher education schools of Lisbon to create the Technical University of Lisbon composed by several faculties and university institutes.
In those times, a full chartered engineer (Engenheiro) in Portugal used to have a compulsory five-year course known as licenciatura which was granted exclusively by universities.
Today, after many reforms and changes in higher education occurred since 1998 to the 2000s, the formal differences between polytechnic and university licenciatura degrees in engineering are in general null, and due to the Bologna process both graduates should be recognized equally all across Europe.