Católica joins World Youth Day Lisbon 2023 through the Pilgrim Welcome Centre, between July 15 and August 6, where pilgrims will check-in and receive their kits. The campus will also host, from 1 to 6 August, the Francis Economy House, with talks, workshops and conversations with Francis Economy entities.

These initiatives will involve various access restrictions to the buildings and services of the Palma de Cima Campus.

Check all the restrictions and events related to Católica in WYD

‘The University implies the structural formation of the person, but also the contribution to the improvement of society and the planet’. These were the words of the President of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Isabel Capeloa Gil, at the Opening Session of the New Academic Year 2024-2025, held on 18 October at the Cardeal Medeiros auditorium in Lisbon.

At an event that brought together the academic community to celebrate the new graduates and welcome the new students, Isabel Capeloa Gil said that ‘in order to be a university in the true sense of the term, the institution must understand itself as a space for exploration, an eternal project and a work that is always unfinished.’

And as an ongoing project, the University must be ‘unavoidably centred on promoting people's dignity through teaching, research and the transfer of knowledge’, she said.

Isabel Capeloa Gil also left a word of congratulations to the Faculty of Biotechnology, which is celebrating 40 years "of innovation in favour of an area that did not exist in Portugal in 1984 when the School was founded, and which UCP is extremely proud to have initiated and led". She thanked the career teachers, who received the Medals of Merit for the first time for 25 and 40 years of service, for "the generosity with which they have contributed and continue to contribute to the success story that Católica is".

Miguel Freitas, an alumnus of the Faculty of Biotechnology, who was invited back to his alma mater to speak to and inspire the new students and recent graduates, recalled that ‘the Universidade Católica has always encouraged me to question routine and look for creative solutions to daily challenges’.

‘The excellence of the teaching staff and the dynamic teaching, very focused on practice and the development of teamwork projects, were fundamental to my training,’ added the Vice President of Scientific Affairs at Danone in New York.

On this occasion, Luís Bandeira from CGD also presented the UCP/Caixa Geral de Depósitos Awards to the students with the best grades in each degree programme.

Also present at the ceremony was Aníbal Cavaco Silva, who presented the Democracy and Development Prize, which he established in 1995, to two students from the Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics. On this occasion, he expressed his enormous pride in the university where he has taught, emphasising that ‘like many Portuguese, he sees Católica as a tree that produces good fruit’.

The Patriarch of Lisbon and Chancellor of the Universidade Católica, D. Rui Valério, closed the ceremony with words of hope for the entire academic community, emphasising the ‘importance of the vocational legacy that the Universidade Católica Portuguesa has in its highest values and standards of Christian humanism’. ‘The university is a workshop of hope and also a laboratory of humanity,’ he concluded on a note of hope for the academic community.

The Universidad Católica Portuguesa (UCP) is extending its ‘SDG Chairs’ Strategic Initiative by opening enrolment for two new curricular units, reinforcing its commitment to the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The online classes will take place between February and May, allowing students from all UCP campuses to take part. 

Launched in 2022, the curricular unit "SDGs: Humanity's Grand Challenges" aims to promote a collective awareness of the global challenges addressed by the SDGs.

This initiative reinforces UCP's commitment to education aligned with sustainability, the United Nations' Academic Impact commitments and the Principles for Responsible Management Education.

By integrating specialised courses dedicated to different SDGs into the curricula of undergraduate students, the curricular unit offers a multidisciplinary approach to the challenges and opportunities of sustainable development.

The courses are co-created by various UCP faculties and involve a diverse group of academics who bring complementary perspectives to an innovative learning experience.

Classes are held online twice a week, allowing students from all UCP campi - Lisbon, Porto, Braga and Viseu - to take part.

This semester, two courses are available: "Humanity's Great Challenges: SDG 14 - Protecting Marine Life", taught in English, between 17 February and 13 May, and "Humanity's Great Challenges: SDG 4 - Quality Education", taught in Portuguese, between 26 February and 3 April.

UCP students interested in enrolling can contact the respective Student's Office.