Entry into Higher Education is not only an opportunity for scientific and professional training, but also an incentive to promote intellectual, personal and social development.
GAE’s mission is to accompany UPT’s students throughout their academic path, helping them to overcome the difficulties inherent to the process of transition from secondary school to higher education and promoting their academic success, development and well-being.
The Office is an “open door” to help students overcome personal, social, academic or professional difficulties.
GAE is also responsible for ensuring the relationship with UPT Alumni (former students), accompanying them in the transition to the labour market and in the development of their professional career.
Mentoring Programme – 1st year students (mentees) are accompanied by a student, from the same degree programme, attending a more advanced year (mentor), with the aim of promoting their full integration into the academic context.
- Psychological Support Services to help UPT students deal with difficult situations, such as maladjustment to the University/city/course, affective, cognitive and social disorders and interpersonal issues (family, relationships etc).
- Programme of Workshops to promote academic success: Study Methods, Concentration and Memorisation Techniques, Anxiety Management when facing Assessments and many more.
- Volunteer Programme – Within its social responsibility policy, UPT promotes a volunteer programme (national and international), whose main goal is the integral development of UPT students and professionals, providing opportunities and experiences of active participation in the construction and change of our society. It is a programme that aims to provide experiences, enrich personal development, as well as develop transversal and multicultural skills.
For GAE, this is also an opportunity for dialogue with the community, allowing the establishment of social relationships within the scope of which partnerships are established aiming at the mobility of volunteers between different contexts and social realities.
- MasterWork Programme – developing partnerships for internship/job shadowing opportunities.
- Programme of Workshops to prepare the transition to the labour market, covering topics such as CV preparation, LinkedIn page building, Job Interview preparation and much more.
- Careers UPT – Job Fair during which several companies from the different professional areas associated with the courses taught at UPT, present the employment and career opportunities they have to offer to future UPT graduates. During the fair, students are invited to attend corporate presentations, workshops, submit their CV, conduct interviews and network with potential employers.
- Connect2UPT -Platform aimed at promoting employability and career management, ensuring regular contact of final year students and UPT Alumni with the University and UPT’s partner companies.
- Support in the transition to the labour market, helping in the elaboration of CVs, Cover Letters, preparation of job interviews, etc.
- Alumni Mentoring – Programme aimed at connecting Senior Alumni who volunteer to support young graduates or Junior Alumni in facing professional challenges, from looking for their first job to major decisions on career plans and goals.
- Support Groups – GAE dynamises, through Connect2UPT, different support groups (First Job Search; First Professional Experience Challenges, etc.), free forums for sharing anxieties, doubts, but also good practices and success stories.
- Employment Observatory – Monitoring of employment and career conditions of UPT graduates.
Academic inclusion
Mentoring Programme
One of the main objectives of the Student Support Office is to promote the integration and adaptation of students arriving for the first time in Higher Education (HE). The transition from secondary school to ES poses very significant adaptation challenges, to which are added the challenges inherent to the phase of psychosocial development in which students find themselves.
The process of adaptation to this new reality takes place essentially during the first year of attendance at ES, and constitutes a period which is both critical and a predictor of student success and satisfaction throughout their academic pathway. In this sense, GAE promotes a Mentoring Programme in which
The Mentoring Programme developed by the Student Support Office foresees that each new first year student (Mentee) is hosted by a student of the same course, but attending a more advanced year (Mentor), with the objective of promoting the integration of the first student in the academic context, as well as his/her intra and interpersonal development and well-being. Each mentor is responsible for a group of about five mentees, working in articulation with the other mentor colleagues and the GAE, in order to achieve a joint plan of activities aimed at the adaptation, integration and socialisation of the new students within the UPT.
Personal Development and Academic success
A psychological consultation consists of individual support aimed at helping the individual deal with their problems and difficulties, as well as promoting skills, resources, and strategies to overcome these situations.
Psychological consultations are based on the trust relationship established between you and the psychologist, developing a collaborative process that aims to meet your needs.
The psychological consultation service is available to support the entire academic community, regardless of the timing of the request and the nature of the complaints and difficulties that motivate the use of this service.
Therefore, all members of the academic community can schedule a psychological consultation whenever they wish, especially in the following situations:
- Academic difficulties (e.g., test anxiety, concentration difficulties);
- Personal difficulties (e.g., experiencing unexplained moments of sadness, intense anxiety);
- Adaptation difficulties (e.g., transitioning to higher education and/or from higher education to the job market);
- Interpersonal difficulties (e.g., unsatisfactory personal relationships, conflicts with family and/or friends);
- Personal development and self-awareness.
How does the psychological consultation service work?
Psychological consultations typically last about 1 hour, with weekly sessions in the initial stages, which will be gradually adjusted to your needs until the termination of the support is agreed upon.
Please note that the entire support process associated with psychological consultations is governed by the principle of confidentiality.
The consultations are free for the entire academic community of UPT.
To schedule a psychological consultation, simply send an email to gaa@upt.pt with your request and availability. Your request will be attended to as soon as possible.
Any questions regarding this service should also be sent to the email: gaa@upt.pt.
To book a Psychological Appointment simply email: gaa@upt.pt with eyour request and availability. An answer will be sent as soon as possible.
Any questions regarding this service should also be sent to the e-mail: gae@upt.pt.
Professional Development and Career
The Student Support Office includes among its main objectives the provision of support in the integration of final-year students into the job market, aiming to facilitate this transition process and promote the professional success of recent graduates. To achieve this, the Student Support Office develops and provides the services listed below, which are free of charge and available to all UPT students, especially final-year students and recent graduates.
MasterWork Programme
GAE invites UPT partner companies to host a student for a week, for a job shadowing experience, with the aim of providing students with work experience, developing transversal skills and promoting an approach to the business reality.
Careers UPT
As a way of promoting the University-Work Market transition, GAE annually holds Careers UPT, an Employment Fair where several companies in the various professional areas associated with the courses taught at the University are represented. During the event students have the opportunity to attend corporate presentations, workshops, hand in their CV, conduct interviews and network with potential employers.
This initiative, in addition to providing internship and employment opportunities, allows students to understand the vision of the companies so they can better define a professional career strategy.
Workshops Programmes
The Student Support Office has been organising useful Workshops to help UPT students to deal with the academic and/or professional challenges they face, especially upon their arrival at Higher Education and in their transition to the labour market.
Participation in the Workshops is entirely free of charge for all UPT students, and a Certificate of Participation will be given to all those present at the end of the Workshop.
The Student Support Office is available to receive suggestions for workshops, from teachers, students or alumni, whenever specific needs are identified that can be answered through the participation in a workshop dedicated to the topic in question.
The suggestions should be sent to the email gae@upt.pt
Connect2UPT
The Student Support Office recently launched the Connect2UPT platform to maintain regular communication with its graduates, between alumni and final-year students and between alumni and final-year students and companies that promote, directly on the platform, job offers, trainee programmes, professional internships, competitions and summer internships and more.
Career Development
From the Connec2UPT platform, GAE runs different discussion and support groups that aim to help Alumni in the professional decisions and choices they will have to make throughout their career. Examples are the Support Group for Recent Graduates looking for their first job; or the Support Group for Alumni who are facing the challenges of their first professional experience. In these groups these Alumni will have the opportunity to share their doubts, questions and anxieties with colleagues who are in the same process, as well as to disseminate success stories and good practices.
Thinking about the universe of its Alumni, the UPT discloses through this platform the reskilling and upskilling opportunities that it is promoting.
Soon, a mentoring tool will be made available in which Senior Alumni who volunteer will act as mentors to young graduates starting their careers or Alumni who want to review their plans and career goals.
Register in Connect2UPT and stay tuned to the opportunities disclosed in our platform
Employment Observatory
The Employment Observatory aims to regularly monitor the employability of former students, allowing a better understanding of the transition process of UPT students to the labour market, as well as the current characterization of graduates, regarding their academic and professional path.
