On 5 March 2024, the president of the Compostela Group of Universities, Carla Martins, met in Vila Real with the rectoral team of the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro to strengthen relations and plan future joint activities.

UTAD was represented by the rector, Emídio Ferreira dos Santos Gomes, the three vice-rectors, Eduardo Augusto dos Santos Rosa, Jorge Ventura Ferreira Cardoso and Luís Manuel Morais Leite Ramos, the pro-rector for Partnerships and International Relations, Cristina Maria Teixeira Saraiva, and the administrator, José Miguel Pereira Gomes.

The aim of the meeting was to identify the strategic areas of action of this member university within the scope of the CGU. One of the main topics was the preparation of a future meeting of the CGU community in 2025 in the North of Portugal, being UTAD the host university.