Yesterday, the Braga Campus of the Portuguese Catholic University experienced, for the first time, the Academic Day, an initiative that, according to the pro-rector João Duque, aims to celebrate the community, «providing a space and a time for approximation, mutual knowledge and fruition of each other's company."
In the session chaired by the vice-rector of the UCP, Isabel Vasconcelos, and the Metropolitan Archbishop of Braga, D. José Cordeiro, which included a tribute to retired employees, the delivery of prizes, a lesson in wisdom by the Secretary of State for Tourism, Commerce and Services, Nuno Fazenda, the pro-rector explained that it was decided to stop celebrating the opening of classes «and start dedicating one day a year in a special way to the interaction between all members of our academic community.
«On this day, our students will be mainly involved, as they are the essential nucleus of the academic community. In this morning's session, the award-winning students will be represented in a special way, for distinguishing themselves with their work and dedication. In fact, in the awards given to our students, the members of our community are linked in a special way with the partners and society that sponsor many of these awards", he said.
As he underlined, the pro-rector, despite the Braga Campus being made up of only two faculties, the truth is that «the variety of courses and scientific areas is great» and many students from different courses do not know each other or live together.
«The institution of this academic day has, as its first function, to encourage knowledge and rapprochement between students of the different courses, helping to promote a transdisciplinarity that is essential today in academia and in working life», he maintained. But this transdisciplinarity, defended João Duque, will be promoted on this day in the involvement of UCP teachers. «The session we are in will allow teachers from all scientific areas to get to know the work of a teacher from one of the areas, through the wisdom lesson that he will deliver here», he added.
This Academic Day also intends to honor some of the recently retired teachers, as happened yesterday. In addition to being a sign of gratitude, it also allows “many colleagues from other areas to get to know colleagues and the respective academic work of colleagues who, many times, were unknown in the daily practice of teaching and research. Alongside this, João Duque added that it is also intended to honor employees who have retired. «That is, on this day we will celebrate, today and every year, our relationship, our mission, our best and our worst moments, our commitment to each other.
We will celebrate not so much the fruit of our work, but the very process of our daily activity, we will celebrate not so much our profession, our achievements or even our failures, but our humanity lived day by day in a rich relationship, made of all of this », he stressed. After the session, the day continued with the Eucharist and a cultural afternoon.
UCP wants to continue training talent
The Vice-Rector of Universidade Católica said yesterday that this institution of higher education «intends to continue training talent in a full and diversified learning environment, responding to the skills needs of a demanding, global and constantly changing job market, attracting the best students and teachers. with the reinforcement of strategic partnerships that allow merit to be rewarded, as happened »in the session she presided over on this Academic Day.
Isabel Vasconcelos guaranteed that, in the Regional Center of Braga «one really trains for the world and in a multicultural environment». «The diversity of students who attend courses at the faculties of the Regional Center of Braga, contributes to the global ecology that characterizes Católica», she stressed.
The UCP, underlined the Vice-Rector, wants to be an agent of renewal, and transmit its values, based on Christian humanism».
