FLY programme returns with new international volunteering opportunities for Católica students

The FLY Program is back, opening up new opportunities for Universidade Católica Portuguesa students interested in international volunteering experiences. Applications are now available for all students wishing to take part in this initiative.

This programme offers the opportunity to take part in more than 30 volunteering and service-learning projects in 14 countries and aims to raise awareness among university communities of the issues of migration, social exclusion and community care.

Francisco Cabral, a student from the Faculty of Human Sciences, shares his experience in Melilla, where he worked with migrants: "The positive impact of the volunteer programme on the migrant community was unparalleled. The young people showed an enormous desire to learn and integrate. All the affection and fraternity we gave them was generously reciprocated. All of us, volunteers and migrants, have grown together".

Catarina Almeida, a student at the Faculty of Law - Porto School and a participant in FLY 2024 in Brazil, highlights a memorable moment from her experience: "One of the moments that struck me most from the whole experience was when the priest told us during Mass that, before, children were asked what they would like to do when they grew up and they said they wanted to be fishermen and farmers. And now, after starting this volunteering programme, when they are asked exactly the same question, they say that their biggest dream is to be a university student." Catarina concludes: "I left Vazantes with a full heart: full of joy, a sense of mission accomplished, friends, gratitude and, above all, full of nostalgi."

To help students learn more about the programme, the Universidade Católica will be holding three information sessions: a face-to-face session on February 18 at the Porto Campus and two online sessions on February 20 and 24.

The selected students will have to take part in inter-university training and meetings with the volunteer organisations before the start of the experience. The FLY program is promoted by the Jesuit Universities of Spain - Comillas (Madrid), Deusto (Bilbao), ESADE (Barcelona), Loyola (Andalusia) and IQS (Barcelona) - and the Universidade Católica Portuguesa.

Each of these institutions proposes volunteering and service-learning projects, welcoming and sending students from partner universities in a spirit of exchange and sharing knowledge and experiences.

Read more  | Apply here