Testimonials

Diana Vasconcellos BA Student 2014/15 – 2016/17	“As I leave my Bachelor, I leave with more than theory and books to fill a library. I was taught (how) to think critically, to see the world as it is and to understand it as many are not capable to. More than anything, I am very grateful to IEP for the way I have been challenged to grow and mature intellectually. I don’t leave with only a theoretical degree, but as a new thinker. I know that I can trust my future in the opportunities IEP gave me.”
Filipa Brigola Adviser at Portuguese Parliament BA 2004/2005 MA 2007/2008	“At IEP, students are challenged constantly to look at the world with a critical and questioning spirit, as a first and indispensable condition to learn to intelligently and rigorously understand and debate the plurality of ideas and opinions in their scope and depth. This critical spirit is built, above all, through dialogue with the Great Authors of the Tradition of Philosophical and Political Thought. Learning how to dialogue with the great thinkers and to question the world with them was undoubtedly the most valuable legacy of my education at IEP. ”
Pedro Moreira BA 2009/2010 MA 2012/2013 PhD student 2014/2015	“My experience outside of IEP has increasingly shown me that there are two types of university institutions. There is the ‘industrial’ university, where students go to class, come back home, take exams and end up with a diploma. The original idea of what a university should be implies interaction between students and professors, reading beyond manuals and going back to sources, pursuit of knowledge and, above all, intense conversation among all. Being a student at IEP is undoubtedly realizing that the Institute has met its goal of following the original model of a university institution.”
Alexandre Homem Cristo Columnist at Observador BA 2004/2005	“It was at the Institute for Political Studies, during the BA, that I learned how to think critically. I do not only allude (and that would have been much) to the articulation of the various dimensions of knowledge in Political Thought, from Philosophy to the statistical analysis of public policies. I am referring to things that made the most difference in my life. I got the chance to discover the Great Books. I have acceded to a conception of beauty that protected me from banality. I discovered what having great professors truly means (not only the ones who left their legacy but including those with whom I forged a friendship). I understood the complexity of challenges inherent to an Open Society. I identified myself with the values of liberalism, and I saw a sense of duty in defending them. In a way, because it is what matters most and I owe it dearly, IEP has helped me to be free.”
Diogo Madureira Diplomat BA 2004/2005 MA 2008/2009	"Thanks to first-rate teachers, innovative teaching and research methods, the extraordinary network of friends and collaborators in the world's best universities, and an intellectual environment that is both family-friendly and challenging, the IEP / UCP has given me everything. the "Tradition of the Great Books" in both the curricula and in the Institute's own culture, in particular, reflects an exemplary fidelity to the great cultivators of knowledge and was crucial for my intellectual growth."
Miguel Pinheiro Executive Director at Observador MA 1997/98	"Reading, thinking, studying, debating, thinking again. The time I spent as a student at the Institute for Political Studies taught me the value of stopping, simply stopping. Not everything has to be done at the drop of a hat, whilst looking at the watch. In fact, there are many things that, for sure, should take time. Thinking is one of them.”
André Costa Monteiro Diplomat BA 2004/05	"Not every college student will be happy to claim that he has attended an intellectually challenging undergraduate degree in an innovative academic environment. Fortunately, I was fortunate enough to find this in IEP between 2004 and 2007 as a Political Science student. The teaching of motivated teachers and the interaction with the students fostered an atmosphere of discussion and discovery that surpassed the theoretical plane, feeding the curiosity and the critical spirit and fomenting the connection with the practice. None of this would have been possible without the incredible comrades of course with whom I have lived through these years."
João Tiago Gaspar Political scientist and book editor at FFMS BA 2009/2010 MA 2012/13	"When I opted for the IEP I made a rational decision: I chose the best political science school in Portugal, the one that would give me access to the best teachers, which would give me international experiences in top universities, and that would facilitate my integration into the job market. It was an instrumental decision, therefore. Today I know that I made the right choice, but not for the reasons I had anticipated. In the IEP I learned to dissect an argument, to debate in a serious and loyal way, to think. In IEP I made friendships for life. Also because of this, the IEP has gained a sentimental dimension that it could not have anticipated."
Bárbara Matias Researcher at Group for Legal and Political Studies BA 2011/2012	"When I entered higher education, I already had a very strong and desirous idea of what I would like to achieve as an academic and a professional. I am now completing my Master's Degree in Human Rights at Columbia University in New York, having been admitted with a Fulbright scholarship and a partial scholarship from the university. In 2011, I was fortunate to start this course at the IEP. The curriculum, framework, and, above all, the teachers the IEP gave me were absolutely fundamental in not only nurturing these horizons, but also solidifying my identity as an academic. I look at my three years at the IEP with a lot of affection, particularly remembering all the conversations and advice my teachers and mentors have given me that both inspired and supported me on my journey. I remember all the lessons I have taken, the books I have read and my opinions, which are proving to be decisive as I move forward with my career. The IEP was indispensable in shaping my identity and in reaching my horizons.''
Miguel Morgado Member of Parliament PhD 2000/2001	“IEP has been my home, where I grew up and learned. It still remains that way.”
David Dinis MA 1999/2000	“The best thing to say about the time I spent at the Institute for Political Studies is that I really miss it. The immersion in constant debates on political thought, ancient and current, has always made me feel as if I were on a beautiful trip, which only stopped at the end of each class. Of course, this is only possible because of the professionalism, knowledge and impeccable organization of those who are in the IEP. Always focused on giving the best to each student who attends. One day, for sure, I will be back. Convinced that, yes, we can go back to the place where we were once happy.”
Sofia Florentino Scholarship Fundação Amélio de Mello BA 2014/2015	“Choosing the Institute for Political Studies as the home to pursue my Studies in Political Science and International relations opened new horizons for me and gave me the freedom to build my course. I feel challenged, every day, to think critically, differently, and this gives me the certainty that I made the right decision.”
Mónica Brito Vieira Professor at University of York MA 1996/97	“On the occasion when the Institute of Political Studies of the Catholic University of Portugal is celebrating its tenth anniversary, I would like to congratulate the Institute on its determination, where not outright daring, with which its management and multiple members knew how to found and sustain and, over the course of the different years, reinvent a unique space for political-philosophical reflection in Portugal. It is with a certain sense of incredulity, I confess, that I suddenly become aware of the years lapsing since the time when I joined the first year of a degree marked by the energy and genuine enthusiasm over the exchange of ideas about a field of study that, in our country, was then taking its first steps. I recall with all due nostalgia, the contacts that I then established, with academics testifying to different theoretical and methodological approaches, proving essential to my decision to apply to study for my doctorate at Cambridge, where today I am granted the privileged of exploring a vocation that I may truly state I discovered as a student at the Institute of Political Studies. Hence, and for all the solid work undertaken in the meanwhile with many other students, I would take this opportunity to express every due recognition.”
Daniela Chicot BA 2014/2015	“IEP offered me an education of excellence at the international level for its diverse subjects and the professionalism of its academics. Preparing me with the necessary tools to a critical analysis of global challenges.”
Paulo de Almeida Sande MA 1996/97	“I was a student of the first Masters Degree in Political Science from the Political Studies Institute (IEP) of the Portuguese Catholic University, more than 20 years ago. I was then encouraged by the novelty of the approach, the quality of the teachers and the prestige of the Catholic University. The final result exceeded my expectations. I keep working and collaborating with the Institute in different capacities, constantly acknowledging its other rare qualities and achievements, in great part a result of the work and permanent attention of its founder and Director, Professor João Carlos Espada: IEP already established an international network of excellence; solid and sound traditions, despite its youth; agenda setting events; young professors graduated in IEP, some already references of the Academia, the scientific community or public life; and, last but not the least, a group of teachers of high quality, regularly renewed: so many and so good that, if you will allow me to be immodest, the IEP alumni corps constitutes in itself a body of relevant professionals, servants of the public cause, scientists, in a word, proud and qualified citizens of their country”.
Henrique Burnay Managing-Partner of Eupportunity MA1996/97	"I chose my Master's degree in Political Science and International Relations at the IEP for pleasure. At a time when the Master's programme was not widespread, it was an opportunity to compel me to read and study topics I liked, being guided and accompanied. There was no professional objective, nor academic; it was a mere interest and a need of discipline. After these years, I know that it was the right choice. It is no coincidence that Católica is a well-known University, because it is a model of education. The two great virtues of the IEP - the openness to the world and the intellectual and curricular requirements –have everything to do with Católica. Unfortunately, they are not the most common characteristic in the country. Hence the reputation that the University and the IEP have is after all, simple: quality of teaching. That’s what is expected of a university."
André Azevedo Alves Director at CESOP Dean for Research at CIEP MA 2003/2004	"Studying at the IEP was an experience that allowed me to broaden horizons and benefit from the Institute's extraordinary network of national and international partnerships. In addition to academic excellence, being part of the IEP community is an asset - and a responsibility - for a lifetime."
Dace Vinovska MA 2013/2014	"With its vibrant intellectual environment, stimulating seminars, captivating discussions and engagement with networks of visiting international scholars, high level policy-makers and diplomats, the IEP has been a great and truly enriching academic experience. For all that, it has marked an important turning point in my life, and will always be the place I like to come back and feel like at home."