On 25 October, the Braga Regional Centre kicked off the MentoriaUCP initiative of the UCP4SUCCESS project, in partnership with MENTORIZATE. The event ‘Peer Mentoring 4 Success: Where it all Begins!’ marked the start of another cycle of social and academic interaction. 
 
‘This event reinforces the commitment of Católica, UCP4SUCCESS and MENTORIZATE to implementing mentoring practices as an opportunity to boost the integration and academic success of our students, showing them that the road to success doesn't have to be lonely and that it can be built together,’ says Lídia Viana de Pinho, psychologist at the UCP4SUCCESS project. 
  
In the first part of the event, Mentors and Mentees took part in an awareness-raising session on the relevance of Mentoring in Higher Education, also covering the organisation and operation of MENTORIZATE. Participants from previous editions had the opportunity to share their mentoring experiences and to inspire and encourage new entrants. The meeting promoted integration and the strengthening of ties between everyone. The second part of the event was dedicated to training Mentors by reflecting on, developing and training key competences for successful Mentoring.  

‘The Mentor training session provided an enriching experience in which, through role play, we had the opportunity to simulate situations that could happen to any Mentor in their interaction with the Mentee. We also had the chance to get to know and apply tools that are essential to our work as Mentors and that allow us to better understand the needs of the mentees and help them in their experience of adapting to this new stage of higher education,’ says Júlia Cunha, Mentor and head of the MENTORIZATE group. 
  
This project is supported by the Directorate-General for Higher Education (DGES) and the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).