SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
At FEUP, students have the opportunity to participate in volunteer projects at national and international level, such as GASPORTO, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to aid and human development in Portugal and the developing world. Headquartered at the Faculty of Engineering, GASPORTO has been undertaking very important volunteer work not only in the city of Porto, but also in Timor and Mozambique - its main goal being to instill in students an understanding of cultures and to help make the world a better place to live in. FEUP also supports institutions located in the surrounding area, including, among others: IPO Porto (the Portuguese Institute of Oncology - Porto); Hospital do Joãozinho (Pediatric Hospital); Loja Social de Paranhos (Paranhos Community Store), that provides poor families with food, clothing and hygiene products, to which FEUP contributes monthly; Centro Social da Paróquia da Areosa (Areosa Parish Health Centre), which provides support and activities for care of the elderly in its neighbourhood; AJUDARIS – a local association that fights against hunger, poverty and social exclusion; and “Teach for Portugal”, a project which involves young graduates with secondary school students. Moreover, it has supported, and will support, specific actions to overcome critical situations such as housing reconstruction following large-scale forest fires. In order to promote inclusive education and ensure equal access and success for minority groups, such as people with disabilities, FEUP also has at its disposal a specialized office offering support to students with special educational needs, with the aim of improving their conditions of learning and helping them on their academic path. In addition, the “Student Support Project” has been set up with the main aim of contributing towards providing aid to students in financial difficulties who cannot afford to pay their tuition fees.
The existence of a Commission dedicated to Social Responsibility and a Commission for Sustainability reinforces FEUP’s commitment to this matter. Currently, corporate responsibility also extends to the promotion of sustainable development practices in the management of the campus. At the end of 2019 FEUP gathered all the leading Portuguese Higher Education Institutions at the first Conference on Sustainable Campus, under the title of “Sustainable Development: Higher Education Institutions as Agents of Change”, where a charter of commitment was signed. The report on sustainability issued every year gives a good overview of the institution’s performance in various areas of sustainability. As a public institution that practices transparent and accountable management of its resources, FEUP produces an annual financial report revealing all Faculty expenditure and revenue in detail. Positive effects of ecological and environmental policy are likely to arise not only from energy saving gained from intelligent management of buildings, but also from increased use of non-polluting means of transport, and the recycling of waste products. FEUP’s concerns regarding sustainable development are, moreover, not merely confined to its premises. Engineering projects geared to the outside world have a markedly ecological aspect, and the role they play in urban renewal and the construction of future cities makes FEUP a force of benign intervention in society. This same society can freely benefit from the many debates, concerts, theatrical events and film showings organized at FEUP. Music and painting courses are also available with the aim of awakening the artistic talents of our students. After all, FEUP does not just train engineers, but also educates world citizens. More recently, several initiatives have been carried out by FEUP to deal with the Covid-19 crisis, collected together on FEUP’s Voluntary Engineering Platform. This platform aims not only to respond in a timely manner with technological solutions that minimize the impact of the virus on populations, but its objective is also to extend beyond this period of crisis, to provide support and innovation in order to resolve and anticipate future situations. All events taking place in the FEUP community are published in the weekly newsletter FEUPWorld, currently only in the Portuguese language – fe.up.pt/feupworld
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FEUP engages in its core functions of teaching, research, innovation and community outreach in a responsible and principled manner that promotes certain key values. It is our belief that only conscious choices lead to bright students following bright careers. The information programme carried out with high school students and educators does much more than simply fulfil recruitment ambitions. Its main purpose is to better inform people about the different fields of engineering and to make students aware of the environmental and social impacts of the engineering profession.
