Vasco Sousa Cotovio, producer at CNN and alumnus of the Undergraduate Program in Social and Cultural Communication Studies'10 of the Faculdade de Ciências Humanas (FCH), was awarded an Emmy for "Maduro's Blood Gold" investigation.

Vasco was awarded in the "Outstanding Business, Consumer or Economic Report" category, at The News & Documentary Emmy Awards, that promotes excellence in broadcast journalism.

"The investigation started from an idea that I had after my first visit to Venezuela in January 2019. I shared it with Isa Soares, a Portuguese colleague from CNN, and shortly afterwards we gathered a team that, for several months, had been researching, establishing contacts and scheduling interviews. We finally went to Venezuela looking for the puzzle pieces we were missing and only then did we finally manage to film the story" explains Vasco Sousa Cotovio. "We invested about six months, and in the end we found a connection between the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, and some of his closest allies, with the groups of criminals who control the exploitation and trafficking in gold (and other precious minerals) in the south of the country. The exploration, not only environmental but also of the men and women who work in this region, is done in spite of the Venezuelan people, who end up not taking advantage of an ore that belongs to them." he adds.

Regarding the nomination and award, Vasco Sousa Cotovio says that "this is an incredible award that makes us doubly satisfied: firstly for the recognition of the time and effort that we dedicated to this work, but above all, because it allows us to call attention to this problem and the crisis that is currently going on in Venezuela. From a personal point of view, it is a culmination of about six years of working and learning from the incredible team that CNN has in London." ends.

Congratulations Vasco!

Vera Santos and Ricardo Magro are two of the students who recently celebrated the completion of their degree at the graduation ceremony of the Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics. "Challenging" and "overcoming" are the words they choose to describe this path at Universidade Católica Portuguesa.

Over the course of three years, they had classes exclusively in English, and the opportunity to spend a semester at an international university. Vera chose IE Business School in Madrid, Spain, and Ricardo chose Mannheim Business School in Germany. What they take away most fondly from the International Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration are the friendships, but also what they learned inside and outside the classroom.

"For me, it was one of the best decisions I made, honestly. For the friendships as well as for the knowledge and the foundations that I acquired for the future and for the continuation of my studies," Vera shares about her choice of course.

Ricardo, meanwhile, highlights the constant overcoming he had to do: learning how to be a university student, adapting to taking classes during the pandemic, and then studying in another country. "Católica is a very good university, but it's not only the quality that dictates our success. That depends on us. We have to be willing to be there and learn as much as possible," he explains by way of advice to current students.

For Vera, the biggest challenge, and one she didn't expect, was "taking remote classes during the pandemic." Although difficult initially, everything turned out well in the end thanks to the professors. "They are excellent professionals, all very reachable people who were always there for us. I didn't feel like I was just another student, they knew who I was and they cared about us," she explains.

Currently attending the Master in Marketing Management at ESADE Business School in Barcelona, Vera believes that the ease she is having in an international environment is due to her degree at CATÓLICA-LISBON. She highlights the classes in English and "Learn in Action", a professional development program focused on soft skills.

In turn, Ricardo, working at Sonae Sierra, highlights the curricular plan of the last year of the degree, which can be completely personalized: "In the third year, I understood better what I want to do, I could choose the subjects that were closer to what I like the most, in my case Finance."

The classmates were reunited with the remaining graduates at the ceremony on October 22. "I feel that the graduation was almost like a funny and nostalgic last reunion, but also a good closing of the chapter," describes Ricardo, as he explains that many of his classmates are already studying outside the country, where they plan to continue their professional careers.

"For me, it was the culmination of these three years, everyone there together celebrating the same thing, and thinking about all the experiences and obstacles we overcame together in the university, where we did everything, the friendships, passed the difficult chairs... it was a memorable day," Vera concludes.

On Monday, September 6, the series "Pão de Law" by Inês Rogeiro and Luísa Teixeira da Mota, alumnae of the Católica | Lisbon School of Law, premiered on Youtube and Instagram.

With the support of the Católica | Lisbon School of Law, during at least 8 episodes, the two lawyers promise to demystify and uncomplicate legal topics and terms that are often a "headache" for the general public.

A good dose of Law, a good mood to the mix and humour are the main ingredients of a perfect recipe of "Pão de Law" that will be aired every Monday, at 6 p.m.

The opening topic focuses on marriage and the property system. Watch the 1st episode here.

The Portuguese Embassy in Madrid hosted on February 21 a Católica Alumni Sunset Meeting. An event that brought together dozens of former students of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, from the most varied areas, who are living and working in the Spanish capital.

At the meeting, the President of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Isabel Capeloa Gil, presented to the guests the Veritati Campus, the new project of the University, thanking the presence of the former students who, she said, represent the "resilience of Católica."

"We learn to take risks, to do things differently and to be autonomous," the President highlighted.

João Mira Gomes, Portuguese ambassador in Madrid and alumnus of the Universidade Católica, said it was "a pleasure for the embassy to welcome the Universidade Católica Portuguesa and its alumni. A pleasure reinforced by the fact that I am also an alumnus."

About the University, the Portuguese ambassador mentioned "it is well known for the excellence of the training it gives to the people who have studied there."

The event was organised by the Development Office of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa and was also attended by the Vice-Rector, Miguel Athayde Marques and the Dean of the School of Arts, Nuno Crespo.

The alumni community of the Porto Regional Centre of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa gathered at Alumni Fest for a moment of reunion and return to the University. The event, which took place on 8 July, brought together more than 300 former students from the seven faculties. It was a unique moment of encounter between all those who see the Universidade Católica Portuguesa as their Alma Mater.

The Alumni Fest allowed to see colleagues and teachers again and strengthened the relations between the alumni community and the university. For Isabel Braga da Cruz, Pro-Rector of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, "The University recognises the fundamental role that Alumni have in its development, in the training of new generations, in sharing and building knowledge".

The Alumni Fest was a joint initiative of the University with the various Alumni Associations (Biotechnology, Law and FEP) and with the different alumni communities (Católica Porto Business School,  Institute of Health Sciences, School of Arts and Faculty of Theology in Porto).

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