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Este trabalho tem como objetivo destacar o processo de ensino e aprendizagem no ensino superior (ES) como um espaço privilegiado para a (re)afirmação da autonomia acadêmica e construção da autonomia profissional. Para tanto, congrega uma reflexão sobre fatores que afetam o (in)sucesso de estudantes no ES e duas experiências formativas – uma que centra a atenção na relação estabelecida na supervisão de ensino como possibilidade de desencadear diálogos com o conhecimento autônomo, e outra que tem como foco a construção da profissionalidade docente de estudantes em processo de formação inicial, no âmbito do desafio da gestão compartilhada da organização do trabalho pedagógico. Nesse contexto, ao indiciar possibilidades da participação ativa na gestão da aula e alternativas de intervenção formativa, o estudo tem como horizonte contribuir na reflexão sobre saberes e fazeres docentes no âmbito da complexidade de se pensar o sucesso acadêmico do estudante em formação

The growing digitalization that is taking place in most current societies, shaping a super-smart society -- such as, for example, the aimed Society 5.0 -- raises profound implications in the learning that the higher education context should foster, and which is summarized in the following question: what kind of skills should be taught and how? This perspective paper aims to analyze the centrality of soft skills in this new and unavoidable context, as well as the implications in the learning process. The results of a bibliographical search point toward the fact that, in addition to professional and scientific skills, soft skills are critical for professional and personal success, which implies a profound reformulation of the teaching processes in the overwhelming majority of higher education institutions and their actors. For this challenge to become a reality and for the success of these processes, elements such as digital literacy, sustainability and interculturality are paramount.

In this article, the authors analyze the current situation in Portugal, in terms of the relationship between basic education and higher education, focusing on the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic in these processes. Moreover, this piece also addresses the quality of student preparation in basic education for a positive and successful experience in higher education.

Students' integration into the environment of the higher education institution (HEIs) is a shared concern found in the literature. This notion of integration is particularly relevant in the first year in higher education, when students face increased difficulties of adapting to a new environment, being the year when a higher number of students drop out. Thus, the main purpose of the study is to grasp students' perceptions of the measures put in place to ease their integration into the academic and social environment of the HEI. This study used a qualitative methodology, and data collection instruments used are twofold: semi-structured interviews with students and document analysis. In Portugal, the welcome to students who enrol in higher education is made in two ways: through a ceremonial proposed by peers and through the institutional welcome promoted by the HEI. The results reveal the relevance students ascribe to strategies for welcoming newcomers in the HEI, promoted both by peers and by the institution itself. Thus, having identified this pivotal dimension of the students' experience, namely in their likelihood of remaining in the institution, HEIs should endeavour to make students feel comfortable in this new environment and perceive the institution as their 'second home'.

At a time of great dynamism among publishers of scientific publications, with the inevitability of Open Access and the ease of publishing online at low cost, it is possible to find publications with different levels of scientific respectability. In this context, the improvement of the quality of scholarly publications emerges as a critical element for publishers, authors and academic institutions, as well as for society in general. This opinion piece discusses Open Access journals with different levels of quality, focusing on the following quality-promoting measures: blacklists, author's preparation, and institutional prevention. The analysis allows concluding that the open review will be one of the key elements in the process of clarification and promotion of the level of quality and consequent scientific respectability of each of the Journals, of the thousands currently existing, a number that is likely to increase.

The emergence of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus at the end of 2019 changed the face of the world. Deep consequences are being felt across the whole world at all levels. This opinion piece aims to provide a picture of the Portuguese educational scenario, specifically the impact of COVID-19 in education and government measures to mitigate it, the hindrances and the challenges ahead.

Internationalization in higher education seems to be an unavoidable process, albeit temporarily limited by the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease of 2019) pandemic. Specifically, internationalization of the curriculum in the context of higher education is a dimension of this internationalization that is less valued in published studies. This paper, through critical reflection, sought to contribute to a deeper understanding of internationalization of the curriculum in higher education. The methodology used consisted of a bibliographic search in international databases, and the selected documents were analyzed using the content analysis technique. This analysis allowed concluding that internationalization of the curriculum in higher education is a complex process and involves several actors, with various challenges to be considered. For this process to be successful, it involves the ability to be attentive to the cultural multiplicity that will be experienced in classes where this internationalization of the curriculum exists.

At a time when the labour market is blocked and simultaneously rapidly changing, with the emergence of new professional and scientific areas, the higher education mission becomes less indisputable and more indeterminate and challenging. This uncertainty was the leitmotiv for this essay, which aims to discuss the importance of attaining transversal competences in higher education. To achieve this goal, a bibliographical research was carried out on the attention that is currently given by higher education institutions to this topic, how they respond to the need for increasingly more transversal training and how they develop a curriculum that meets these requirements. Thus, in methodological terms, a thorough research on the literature addressing the topic of transversal competences was carried out; subsequently, a document search was conducted and a qualitative review and analysis of the documents collected was performed to justify our stance. Our analysis allowed concluding that the context of indeterminacy regarding the future has variations, considering the geographical and political situation, the social context and the activity sector. Furthermore, attitudes, expectations and predispositions are also critical elements for the success of this process of transversal competences' attainment. This latter factor is central in this process, as there is often a gap between students' expectations regarding the competences they expect to attain in higher education and the proposals that frame their training at the micro, meso and macrosocial levels and which take the need to attain transversal competences in higher education for granted.

Background: Cognitive impairment affects 40–65% of MS patients, encompassing all disease stages and types of clinical courses. This estimation is based on different instruments used and population normative data. Objective: This study aims to assess the cognitive function in a hospital-based cohort of Portuguese MS patients, to allow estimating the prevalence of cognitive impairment in different phenotypes. Methods: Three hundred and thirteen patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) underwent neuropsychological assessment with the brief repeatable battery of neuropsychological tests (BRBN-T) and the brief international cognitive assessment for multiple sclerosis (BICAMS). Results: Differences were observed in the cognitive impairment profile of different disease phenotypes and of the different disease severity stages. RRMS patients performed better in the cognitive test of the BRBN-T and BICAMS than those with progressive disease phenotypes. Relationships between cognitive impairment and disability and professional status were relevant. Although similarities could be observed in the cognitive profile of the MS phenotypes, with predominant involvement of verbal memory, verbal fluency, and information processing speed, the latter was found to be more frequent as the disease progressed. Conclusion: This study contributes to improve knowledge about the cognitive profile of the different MS phenotypes and understand the cognitive characteristics of Portuguese patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Executive dysfunction occurs in 15% to 20% of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and verbal fluency tests are frequently used to assess this deficit. The Word List Generation (WLG) is one of the most used measures in MS. This study aims to compare the performance of WLG of MS patients and healthy controls and to analyze the influence of clinical and demographic factors on the performance of MS patients. Methods: One hundred and nine MS patients and an age- and gender-matched group of 138 healthy controls were evaluated with WLG Portuguese version, as well as other tests from the Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Tests (BRBN-T), subtests from WAIS, a phonemic fluency test (M, R, and P), and measures of psychological symptomatology and cognitive fatigue. The MS group (70.6% females) was mainly diagnosed with RRMS (89.2%). Results: The MS group performed significantly lower than healthy controls on the WLG. In the MS group, this performance was significantly correlated with the level of education. Significant differences were found between the two groups regarding cognitive fatigue, with MS patients reporting higher levels than healthy controls. However, this variable was not related to the performance on the WLG for MS patients. Conclusions: This study suggests that MS is associated with large levels of cognitive decline on the phonemic verbal fluency tests. These results are consistent with other studies and highlight the importance of verbal fluency and cognitive speed measures in the neuropsychological assessment of MS. Deficits on this task seem to be highly related to the level of education of the patient rather than other demographic and clinical factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the university in society and the economy is evolving. Universities produce knowledge that promotes technological developments, which are, in turn, critical to economic growth and competitiveness in the global economy. Therefore, it is increasingly expected that universities become more entrepreneurial and assume this third mission in order to promote innovation and development through the provision of technologies and business ventures. Drawing on data collected for The Changing Academic Profession Project--a comparative survey of the academic profession carried out in 19 countries from all over the world--this article explores Portuguese academic entrepreneurship engagement based on the involvement in the process of technology transfer as an activity performed in the context of research activities. It thus aims to contribute to knowledge about academics' engagement in entrepreneurial activity. Results from this study suggest that Portuguese academics are fairly involved in entrepreneurial activities and that there is an overall positive attitude towards application of research to real problems. Furthermore, it was possible to see that academics involved in processes of technology transfer are not only focused on activities such as research but also service to the outside community. However, when comparing academics involved and not involved in entrepreneurial activities, several significant differences are found in their attitudes, perceptions and behaviours.

"Education and Digital Societies for a Sustainable World" is a document that provides a summary of various articles and studies related to education and digital societies. The articles cover a wide range of topics, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education, the use of technology in classrooms, environmental education, and the role of libraries in promoting digital inclusion. The authors express their gratitude to the contributors and reviewers of the articles and highlight the potential of these publications to contribute to the discussion on education and digital societies for a sustainable world. [Extracted from the article]

Family has an undeniable influence upon the career construction of higher education (HE) students, since it is a primary source of their socialisation. This article presents a qualitative analysis of 30 interviews conducted with first-year students, aimed at understanding the relationship between family sociocultural status and career choice and the perceived meaning in the family of the enrolment of one of their elements in HE. Results show that HE students came mainly from economic, cultural and social upper classes. It was a "logic path", for who would inherit in the adult age, not only the economic capital, but also the relational capital. The educational and economic resources of the students' families are key factors in the choice to pursue HE studies, rather than the professional world.

Transition to Higher Education (HE) is a significant life event and it is supposed to be a very agreeable experience to students. However, such impact is not linear, being mediated by students' psychosocial variables and by their own perceptions concerning the HE environment. Transition to HE encompasses many tasks to cope with changes: dealing with new kinds of responsibilities and managing emotions. A wide variety of emotions take place in the HE transition, either of a positive or negative nature, such as joy of enrolment success and fears of social rejection. This research focused on the transition to HE, approaching freshmen's personal and developmental variables. Results confirm that the impact of transition has a mostly emotional nature and that related concerns differ according to students' gender and socio-cultural background. With greater joy or greater anxiety, HE transition may be perceived as a stage of a long process towards adulthood.

Background: Literature draws attention to the relationships between the initial experiences of students as they begin their higher education and how they fare subsequently. In Portugal, the new student's reception is ritualised by tradition, and involves the organisation of an entire integration ceremony (known as "praxe") proposed by peers. This paper argues that initiation practices in Portuguese higher education can be regarded as a transition ritual, a group of symbolic activities that brand the shift from secondary to tertiary education. Purpose: This paper aims to analyse students' observations about initiation practices within this framework. Sample: Participants were 30 first-year undergraduate students ("freshmen") attending a Portuguese university. Design and methods: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with the students. Qualitative analysis was undertaken. Transcripts were coded according to themes and analysed using a constant comparison approach, to allow for the emergence of categories. Findings: The findings from this small-scale investigation describe and categorise freshmen's experiences and perspectives on initiation practices. Both positive and negative perspectives about "praxe" were identified. Conclusions: The submission relationship that underlies these transition rituals tended to be regarded by first-year students as an inevitable and necessary "price to pay" for their entrance in the academic world.