“I thank you for your confidence, which includes both an appreciation of past performance and an assessment of future risk. I affirm that we will continue with ambition on the path of contributing to the transformation of the world through science and education.” These were the words of the President of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP), Isabel Capeloa Gil, at the investiture ceremony for the President and her Rectoral Team, held on 15 November at the Cardeal Medeiros auditorium in Lisbon.
At an event that brought together the academic community and various guests, Isabel Capeloa Gil announced new projects for the next term, centred on three axes: “talent development and retention; the renewal of the pedagogical model and the development and expansion of infrastructure”.
Isabel Capeloa Gil also announced the launch of “five new transversal initiatives”: Pedagogical Transformation and Technological Literacy; Excellence for Science and Society; Smart and Sustainable Campus; Longevity and Innovation; and New Humanities.
António Leitão Amaro, Minister of the Presidency, was invited to the ceremony and emphasised “the moral, humanist and universalist project’ of the UCP, as well as ‘the role it plays in the transmission of tools in technological and humanist training and in the multiplicity of areas of science that are cultivated here”.
The Patriarch of Lisbon and Chancellor of UCP, Bishop Rui Valério, closed the ceremony by emphasising the institution's responsibility in building a path of peace.
The investiture ceremony also included the swearing-in of the new rectoral team.
Peter Hanenberg, Vice-Rector for Research and Doctoral Education, Isabel Vasconcelos, Vice-Rector for Teaching and Pedagogical Innovation, Miguel Athayde Marques, Vice-Rector with responsibility for Infrastructural and Strategic Development, Fernando Ferreira Pinto, Vice-Rector for Legal Affairs, Margarida Mano, Vice-Rector for Continuous Improvement and Development, and José Manuel Pereira de Almeida, Vice-Rector responsible for Social Responsibility, Inclusion and Pastoral Affairs, moved on from the outgoing team to the new one.
A new Vice-Rector joined the team: Nelson Ribeiro, responsible for Transformation, Collaboration and International Affairs.
Aires do Couto, Pro-Rector of the Viseu Regional Centre, Isabel Braga da Cruz, Pro-Rector of the Porto Regional Centre, and Administrator Helena Brissos de Almeida, have also moved on from the outgoing rectoral team. Paulo César Azevedo Dias took office as Pro-Rector of the Braga Regional Centre. Céline Abecassis-Moedas has also joined the new team as Pro-Rector for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
The ceremony was broadcast live on UCP's Youtube channel, which you can watch here.
