On April 10, the Portuguese Catholic University organised the 1st National Meeting of Catholic Mentors in Braga, under the theme ‘Peer Mentoring 4 Success’. The initiative, organised by UCP4SUCCESS and aimed at student mentors from the University's various campuses, provided a day of sharing, learning and strengthening collaborative ties.

The event brought together representatives from Católica's Peer Mentoring programmes: MENTORIZATE (Braga), SOS Caloiro (Viseu) and Bright UP (Lisbon) - creating a space for dialogue around the challenges and success strategies in peer mentoring.

The opening session was attended by the Pro-Rector of the Portuguese Catholic University, Paulo Dias, the Director of the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences, Bruno Nobre, and a welcome message from Susana Costa Ramalho, one of the UCP4SUCCESS Project Coordinators.

In the words of Lídia Viana de Pinho, UCP4SUCCESS psychologist, ‘the atmosphere was one of great enthusiasm, motivation and a spirit of mission, revealing the enormous potential of our students as Mentors and agents of change in Higher Education.’

Team building dynamics and debates gave participants the opportunity to reflect on empathy and the value of constructive feedback in supporting colleagues, with the support of the project team.

One of the most significant moments of the meeting was the symbolic creation of the Catholic University's National Mentoring Network, with the aim of strengthening the link between the different groups and promoting a culture of mutual help, commitment and development.

Maria Inês Ribeiro, coordinator of the SOS Freshman Mentoring group at the Viseu Campus, says that this meeting "allowed us to establish meaningful relationships with other Mentors, all driven by the same desire to learn and to contribute to the improvement and quality of the academic experience. The activities developed were crucial to promoting the involvement of Mentors and ensuring that their contribution is valuable to the success of the programme."

Ana Protásio, coordinator of the Bright UP Mentoring group at Sede-Lisboa, adds that "the Mentors' Meeting was an enriching day that gave rise to many new ideas and synergies! Let the next ones come and let them be like this too!"

This project is supported by the Directorate-General for Higher Education (DGES) and the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).