Last Saturday, May 21st, another edition of Delegates Day was held, to remember the importance of the function and remember the values of Técnico. The day included a session with high participation by the approximately 30 delegates who filled much of the auditorium. Professor Raquel Aires Barros, Education Ombudsman, made an intervention to explain the role of the ombudsman and, later, Isabel Gonçalves, Coordinator of the Núcleo de Desenvolvimento Académico (NDA) also spoke with delegates on the subject of harassment, a subject chosen to discuss in the session of that day. This was followed by lunch and a moment of socializing and networking. In the afternoon, there was also space for several team building activities with the delegates.

But how does the process of electing a course delegate proceed?

At the beginning of the first school period there is an election period for the figure of the delegate, who is a representative of the students. He or she can be self-proposed, or proposed by classmates. One delegate is elected each year and in each course. Later, a course delegate is chosen from the previously elected delegates.

Students are informed of the process since the beginning, through an email that tells them all the useful information about the application process. Students are also informed in detail how they can vote on the form for this purpose.

What are his duties? Is the delegate trained to carry out his duties?

The role of a delegate has a specific mission: to contribute to quality at the pedagogical level and to promote the fulfillment of the values of Técnico as a School. Therefore, its an important role in problem solving, conflict management and the ability to collect the opinions of its colleagues and transmit them to the school, especially the Pedagogical Council.

But this is not a mere process arising from the results of an election. Ricardo Lameirinhas and Leonor Matos ensure that delegates have specific training actions required: One training in the area of soft skills, another in the area of hard skills and two more in the essential skills category. The training offer is wide and each delegate can expand their skills if they wish, choosing the courses they want to take, through the available offer, ranging from introductory training to ethics, through communication, the operation of Técnico itself, a sharing session and other content of a more administrative nature.

What is the level of intervention of a delegate and what channels are available to students?

“The delegate is like a filter,” says Ricardo Lameirinhas. The delegate is responsible for providing the assistance and providing the necessary information to resolve a problem. “Delegates are here to support students in whatever it takes. Sometimes it feels like there is a barrier, but there is no barrier,” adds Ricardo Lameirinhas. “We are accessible and anything is needed we say to which door they have to go knock,” Leonor Matos concludes. Any student who feels the need to speak to someone in an attempt to resolve a question, can do so through a delegate, can report to the course coordinator, or write directly to the Pedagogical Council.

The ombudsman role is “to ensure satisfaction with academic experience, based on security, tolerance and mutual trust, with a view to the best conditions of collaborative work in the educational community and individual and institutional success”, as explained by Professor Raquel Aires Barros. Thus, the Ombudsman is available to students in situations such as harassment, or incivility, for example. “It could be a complaint from a teacher against a student. It could be a student’s complaint against another student. It may be a complaint of a student against the teacher”, for which the provider issues a justified opinion, from which an action may result. The ombudsman is an exempt element, acting as a mediator to promote conciliation, taking into account the charter of rights and guarantees and the code of conduct and good practice of the University of Lisbon.