Prizes and Honours

U.Porto has been congratulated for two consecutive years (2018 and 2019) as the most supportive higher education institution in Portugal by the Santander Universities Foundation, having received the "IES + Solidarity" award.

In 2022, CASES-Cooperativa António Sérgio para a Economia Social will award the Voluntary Academic Quality Label for the practices, dynamics and tools created and developed to promote volunteering. This award serves as an instrument of qualification, accountability and dynamism for the practice of volunteering, available to higher education institutions, with the aim of promoting volunteering activities, increasing the number of volunteers and, ultimately, promoting the full exercise of solidarity and citizenship.

The "Student Volunteering - Combating School Failure and Early School Leaving" project, promoted by the University of Porto in partnership with the Education Department of the Municipality of Porto, was awarded 3rd place - in the Volunteering Action category - in the "Ser+R-VES and Santander Foundation" prize, which recognises the best initiatives to promote volunteering developed within - and beyond - the framework of the University Volunteering Network (R-VES).

The Núcleo U.Porto Solidária was awarded the "Reference Agent - Operationalisation" category during the "Volunteering & Innovation" event that marked the 15th anniversary of Pista Mágica. The event was held on 24 October at Espaço Atmosfera M in Porto.

With the presence of several municipalities from the Greater Porto area and institutions from different sectors, the main aim of this event was to open a space for debate and the exchange of ideas on training, operationalisation, digitalisation and inclusion in volunteering.

In the plenary session "Conversar e Construir - Capacitação no Voluntariado | Plenário com agentes de referência", which took place in the morning, Professor Manuel Nuno Alçada, lecturer at FMUP and member of the U.Porto Volunteering Commission, discussed the practices, challenges and solutions inherent in the capacity building of volunteers adopted by the University.