Curricular Volunteering: 10 years of shaping scientists who are closer to society

Created in 2016, the Curricular Volunteering course at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (Ciências ULisboa) continues to spark growing interest among students. Far beyond the three ECTS credits it awards, the initiative brings students closer to diverse social realities and promotes human skills that stay with them long after graduation.

There are experiences that do not fit into a curriculum. For almost ten years, the Curricular Volunteering course at Ciências ULisboa has taken students outside the classroom and placed them in situations they would hardly encounter in textbooks. Children, older adults, people in vulnerable situations or families in need become part of these students’ daily lives and often end up changing the way they look at the world — and at themselves.

This is what happened to Mário Santos, a third‑year Biochemistry student who carried out volunteering at CEBI Foundation – Residential Care Home in Alverca: “Throughout the three years of my degree, I felt the absence of that component more connected to people. That was the main motivation for choosing this course unit.” At the end of the experience, he says that what he gained exceeded expectations: “I left much happier than I imagined and I’m eager to continue.”

Although the course unit awards three ECTS credits, Mário believes that this was not the main reason for choosing it: “It inevitably weighs a little, but that’s not why I chose it.”

Created in 2016, this course unit was a pioneer in Portuguese higher education by integrating volunteering into students’ academic pathways. Today, it remains one of the most sought‑after options among transversal skills course units. “If we had 100 places per semester, we would probably fill all 100,” says Cristina Catita, professor at Ciências ULisboa and coordinator of the curricular unit.

Every semester, students choose from different projects developed in partner institutions in areas such as social inclusion, childcare support, food assistance or accompanying people with specific needs. Before starting their volunteering work, they receive mandatory training and, throughout the entire experience, they are supported by a tutor at the host institution and by a lecturer from Ciências ULisboa.

The connection between the Faculty and the institutions is ensured by the Employability Office, which establishes an “interface between the Faculty and the institutions. We manage the protocols, provide administrative support for the course unit and establish this link with the host organisations,” explains Ana Atouguia, senior officer at the Employability Office.

For Cristina Catita, this organisation is one of the factors that explains the success of the course: “What we never want is for a student to arrive at an institution without knowing what they are going to do or without someone to accompany them. There is an individual work plan and a structure designed so that everyone feels supported.”

Over these 10 years, the professor has accompanied hundreds of students and says there is a pattern that repeats itself: “We are talking about young people aged 19 or 20 who move from a position in which they receive knowledge to another in which they realise that there are people who rely on them. They develop a sense of responsibility, commitment and organisation.”

This transformation becomes visible throughout the semester: “Almost all of them say they gained far more than they thought they would give.”

Some even maintain their connection to the institutions after completing the course. Cristina Catita recalls the case of a former student who volunteered at Refood and eventually took on the coordination of the faculty volunteers sent to that organisation. Lisete Sousa, lecturer in the Department of Mathematical Sciences and tutor of the course unit since its early years, has also witnessed this evolution. As a mentor, she accompanies students throughout the semester and later guides them in preparing their final report. Among the experiences that marked her most, she recalls a night spent at Refood, where she took part in food distribution: “It was very interesting to understand all that dynamic and to get to know, up close, the people who needed that help.”

This semester, frequent contact with the students allowed Lisete Sousa to closely follow each one’s progress: “I could see that they were increasingly enthusiastic. I ended up experiencing the volunteering through their eyes.”

For Ana Atouguia, that is precisely the essence of the course unit: “The aim is to complement scientific training with skills that will be useful in professional life and also in personal life.”

In Mário Santos’s case, the most striking memories came from the small gestures of the children he accompanied: “What impacted me most was the children’s smiles. They noticed when I was absent, when I cut my hair or when I wore different clothes. The joy with which they welcomed me was what left the biggest mark.”

On the other hand, Tiago Barreiros and André Cardoso, who volunteered at the Instituto S. João de Deus in Carnaxide, highlight the story of a patient who, after being discharged and feeling fully rehabilitated, returned to the hospital unit to support other patients — this time as a volunteer.

These are moments that do not appear on grade sheets or in final exams. But they are experiences that help shape more aware professionals and citizens who are more attentive to others. After a decade, this is the legacy that Curricular Volunteering continues to leave in every new generation of Ciências ULisboa students.