Citizen Service Professionals Support New Students

Five higher education institutions will have professionals from Citizens' Bureaus present when new students are welcomed to universities, the State Agency for Technological Reform (formerly AMA) announced this Monday.

Organized by the Agency for Technological Reform of the State (ARTE), the “Academic Journey of Public Services” initiative begins on August 26 and 27, at the University of Coimbra, accompanying the start of enrollments for the 2025/2026 academic year, says the entity, in a statement.

The journey will then continue its route through other educational institutions: from September 3rd to 5th it will pass through Nova SBE, in Carcavelos, on September 8th it will be at the University of Algarve, in Faro, on September 9th and 10th it will go to the University of Minho, in Braga, and from September 15th to 19th it will be at the University of Porto.

"During the indicated dates, a gov.pt space will be set up at the universities of Coimbra, Algarve and Minho, where students will be able to access essential public services with the support of a specialized team ," says ARTE.

“At Nova SBE, on the 1st floor, and at the University of Porto, at Pólo Zero, the same support and services will be available through the Citizen Spaces already existing at these institutions,” he adds.

With this initiative, "students will have the opportunity to immediately resolve various essential public services on-site" such as changing their address , activating the Digital Mobile Key , installing the gov.pt app with the integration of digital documents , such as the student card and the youth card, requests for Nutritionist Check and Psychologist Check , requesting the European Health Insurance Card , as well as subscribing to digital newspapers and magazines .

Essentially, the “Academic Journey of Public Services” aims to support higher education students at this stage, providing public services within the academic space itself that are particularly important throughout their university and personal journey .

"More than just a one-off presence, this initiative reinforces that public services are available to students throughout the year , whether through the Citizen Spaces already installed at the University of Porto's Pólo Zero or the Nova SBE Citizen Lab Space, or through the 76 Citizen Shops and more than 980 Citizen Spaces available throughout the country," ARTE adds.

This event, he adds, "is also an opportunity to introduce the Portugal Digital Academy, which will allow students and teachers to conduct diagnostics and enroll in free courses that reinforce essential digital skills for personal and professional development."

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