Life at Católica

At CATÓLICA-LISBON, you do an awful lot of studying, and that's a fact! And you work! And you investigate! And you become enterprising! And you help each other! And you gain the world!

But we take care of our students.

The development of each student is supervised by experienced professionals, because each student is special. Students, professors and staff members develop and fuel a strong sense of community, working together in the pursuit of common goals.

This is why your experience at CATÓLICA-LISBON will be unique. We foster your development and guarantee that, day after day, you will be honing your personal and professional skills and preparing yourself for facing up to and having an impact on the world.

From early on, we seek to identify the skills and strong points of each individual and, by doing this, we help them to find their own way, opening up new horizons and releasing their full potential.

Alumni and Mentors

In addition, the Mentoring Program was developed to create a preferential connection with each student so that the former student can help to guide their development and explore the opportunities available for their career.

Executives in Residence is another program that often leads some of the best executives in Portugal to dedicate some of their time to supporting students and sharing their own experience with them.

Through our networking groups and other groups in multiple activities organized by the Careers & Talent Office, you will gain access to a large network of alumni who set aside some of their time to reply to questions on specific issues in the labor market, advising you or even opening some doors.

School Community

Interaction with society, with the business world, classmates and the professional market is now an essential element for the development of our students. CATÓLICA-LISBON offers all students their first of these interactions at the beginning of the program, through Welcome Week.

Academic Events

Take a look at some of the events you’ll find at CATÓLICA-LISBON, providing new undergraduates with a memorable academic experience. Welcome Day, Solidarity Day, Freshers’ Weekend, the trip to the snow, the BE Together events throughout the year and many other festive activities which are excellent opportunities for students to become immersed in the unique spirit of our school.

Get involved in a variety of other extracurricular activities organized by our Students’ Association, by the different Professional Student Clubs or in other cultural, sporting and social events that you want to develop and which we hope you embrace filled with ideas and with the aim of adding value!

At the beginning of each academic year, several events are organized to welcome new students, showing them what it means to be part of the CATÓLICA-LISBON community.

Welcome Day

On the very first day of classes and throughout the first week, new students will be given the opportunity to start to get to know each other, explore the campus where they will be spending the next few years and try out the different fun activities on the school campus, interacting with the CATÓLICA-LISBON veterans, professors and staff who will support them on their journey, thus fostering the CATÓLICA-LISBON academic spirit from the outset.

Solidarity Day

On Solidarity Day, freshmen are invited to take part in a social responsibility project. This is always a fun-filled day that reinforces the spirit of teamwork among students and symbolizes that they have embraced the school's social responsibility values.

Freshmen Weekend

Freshmen Weekend – a tradition that's already 18 years old!

At the beginning of each academic year, new students, along with the Students’ Association, staff and members of the teaching staff travel to Serra da Estrela for "Freshmen Weekend".

Outdoor activities, adventure trips along mountain trails or crossing lakes and intense interaction between students helps them to develop a team spirit and a sense of camaraderie. It's very common for the friends that are made on this weekend to continue to be the friends that stay together throughout the course.

Given the pandemic, we may have to substitute this program with another, in Lisbon, but it will be just as much fun and as important.

BE Together

Throughout the year, to wind down and help fuel the spirit of community, bachelor’s and master's degree students get together with professors and staff member at our now famous BE Together events, taking advantage of festive dates or events such as our TEDxCatólicaLisbon, Magusto (roasted chestnuts festival), Christmas, some study breaks, Easter and the Popular Saints festivities.

Graduation Ceremony

And we mustn't forget the memorable graduation ceremony, normally held in May!

Student Organizations

Here are some of the examples that have contributed quite a lot to the CATÓLICA-LISBON community through the involvement of students, volunteering, entrepreneurship and even sport.

Being a member of one of our Professional Student Clubs is vital to your academic experience at our faculty.

The clubs are set up by students within their main areas of interest, with the goal of:

- organizing events and activities that promote and complement their own development and aimed at developing their careers;

- providing networking opportunities between CATÓLICA-LISBON students and the business world, giving rise to recruitment and learning opportunities,

- being the main Career Ambassadors within the school.

Through these activities, the clubs offer students the opportunity to develop their personal and professional skills and expand their network, as well as bringing them closer to the “real professional world” they will become a part of.

All of our clubs are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, working towards making the biggest possible impact on their areas of operation.

If you’d like to learn more about the Professional Student Clubs at CATÓLICA-LISBON, click here.

The mission of AE Católica Lisbon, YOUR Students’ Association, is to ensure that you create unforgettable memories on this road we will be traveling together! We’re here to help you and we are committed to representing you at the highest level, always defending your interests.

Our daily routine includes encouraging everybody to get together and providing you with the best and most diverse activities and resources: from being welcomed on your first days at the faculty so you don’t feel lost, to the most emblematic festivities and interesting AE Católica Talks, not to mention access to the most complete notes and, of course, answering any questions you may have!

We're counting on you to be part of the most competitive sporting teams and to get involved in the most innovative volunteering projects!

Our experience means we can support you in any issues at all academic levels! We're here for you, whenever you need us!

There are other Student Organizations and Clubs with different kinds of goals, but they are all united under the same goal: that of making your feel you belong and helping to provide you with a memorable experience at your faculty.

- the International Club, devoted to welcoming foreign students, seeking to ease their integration into the school and showing them the ins and outs of life in Lisbon.

- AISEC, a global network of young leaders, aged under 30, who fight to improve themselves and the communities around them, through the development of leadership skills, intercultural integration and learning through experience.

- MOVE, an NGO that uses entrepreneurship as a way of empowering young people, families and communities in developing areas, peripheral areas or areas with less autonomy or productivity.

- the CATÓLICA-LISBON Band, led by Maestro Eduardo Lala, which brings together students, staff and professors who play all kinds of instruments and who like spending happy times together and producing good sounds.

- the Universidade Católica Choir, with Artistic Direction by Maestro Sérgio Peixoto, which consists of former and current students, staff and professors of different nationalities, aged between 18 and 60 and with a repertoire that encompasses different styles and music, from classical to light, traditional music, as well as Broadway, negro spirituals, jazz, blues and habaneras.

- NEC Católica, the Catholic Students Nucleus, supported by the Chaplaincy of the University for all those who want to align their spiritual journey with their academic journey.

If you want to find out more about the Student Clubs and Organizations at CATÓLICA-LISBON, click here.