See the agenda by module:

The Postdoctoral Program in Integral Human Development (IHD) is structured around the study of the “peripheries of humanity,” a core theme that is transversal to all cohorts and activities of the program. This focus addresses life conditions shaped by marginalization, abandonment, suffering, deprivation, and the loss of meaning and hope.

Within this framework, the program prioritizes research focused on populations experiencing heightened vulnerability, including the poor, the sick, marginalized individuals, itinerant and displaced persons, Roma communities, prisoners, those experiencing loneliness, and individuals who live and work at sea or on the road. These realities are at the center of initiatives aimed at assistance, care, and human, social, and spiritual development led by the program’s researchers.

Throughout the program, researchers receive continuous support through monthly meetings with their academic supervisors, as well as weekly group sessions with the broader research cohort. The fellowships awarded are designed not only to support the development of applied research projects but also to foster a collaborative research community.

The IHD program aims to train researchers who stand out in society through ethically grounded leadership. To this end, participants are offered complementary training in areas such as Ethics, Leadership, and other relevant fields. This training is further strengthened by encouraging the external communication of research projects, with the goal of promoting new ethical voices in the public sphere, grounded in rigorous knowledge and applied methodologies.

The IHD Program takes place at the Lisbon Campus of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa and is conducted in Portuguese.

In the medium and long term, the program aims to achieve the following outcomes:

• Promotion of socially impactful voices and the development of ethical leaders
• Strengthening the role of women in academia and society
• Integral human development of researchers, both individually and collectively
• Expansion of research in the field of Integral Human Development
• Contribution to the identification and development of policies that support IHD

2026 Agenda

2025 Agenda

2024 Agenda

2023 Agenda