As part of its efforts to promote volunteering, active citizenship and the all-round development of students, the Voluntaria*te programme once again incorporated, in the 2025/2026 academic year, the VUELA/FLY International Volunteering Programme, promoting international volunteering experiences for students at the Braga Campus whilst also hosting students from partner universities.

VUELA/FLY is an international, intercultural, interdisciplinary and intensive volunteering programme organised by the Jesuit universities of Spain, in partnership with the Universidade Católica Portuguesa. The programme brings together the universities of Comillas, Deusto, ESADE, IQS, Loyola and the Universidade Católica Portuguesa and, in 2026, offered more than 40 projects across 16 countries in the areas of Migrants, People at Risk of Exclusion, and Care for People and the Community.

Two students from Braga are taking part in a volunteering project in Braziluas

As part of the VUELA/FLY-OUTGOING programme, two psychology students from the Braga Campus were selected to take part in the “Vazantes: Fé e Alegria” project in Brazil, under the two places made available to the Campus.

Taking part in this project provided the students with a volunteering experience in an international context, enabling them to engage directly with a distinct social and cultural reality and to participate in community service and intervention activities. The experience also provided an opportunity for personal, academic and social learning and growth, contributing to the development of intercultural skills and a greater awareness of different social realities and challenges.

Braga welcomes international student volunteers

The international dimension of VUELA/FLY-INCOMING was also reflected in the hosting, at the Braga Campus, of two student volunteers from the Pontifical University of Comillas, between 1 and 31 July 2026.

In collaboration with the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, the students were integrated into various areas of the Braga Solidarity Centre/Projeto Homem, where they took part in support and outreach activities within the local community.

The Braga Solidarity Centre/Projeto Homem is a non-profit Private Social Solidarity Institution (IPSS), founded in 1991 by the Archdiocese of Braga. The organisation carries out its work in the areas of treatment, prevention, harm reduction and the reintegration of people with addictive behaviours and dependencies, based on a biopsychosocial approach and a perspective that values individual dignity and freedom.

The experience enabled the students to discover a new social reality, deepen their commitment to volunteering and community service, and, at the same time, take part in a context of cultural exchange and mutual learning.

The Braga Campus’s participation in VUELA/FLY, through student mobility for international projects and the hosting of international volunteers, reinforces the international, intercultural and educational dimensions of Voluntaria*te, providing experiences that combine volunteering, learning and social responsibility.