ISS - Social Service Institute

Organic unit dedicated to teaching, research and professionalization in the fields of social service, social intervention and social policies, in the different study cycles.

Director

Teacher Doctor António Costa Pinto

Secretariat

Daniela Rodrigues

The Institute of Social Service of the Lusófona University of Humanities and Technologies has been providing for over 20 years the training of social workers and researchers in Social Work with a vast heritage in scientific, pedagogical and social intervention terms. The Institute makes a difference in the national panorama for the academic and professional quality of its teaching staff, for the unique model of organizing internships, for its commitment to the community and for being unique with the status of an Organic Unit at the Portuguese University.

Mission

The Institute of Social Work adopts the global definition according to which Social Work is an academic area and a profession that promotes social change and development, social cohesion and the empowerment of people. Social Workers face complex and challenging situations, always committed to the principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversity.

Training Areas

Graduation:

• Social Service

Masters:

• Management of Social and Welfare Units
• Social Gerontology
• Risks and Violence in Current Societies
• Social Service and Social Policy

All study cycles have maximum accreditation by the Higher Education Assessment Agency in Portugal (A3ES).

Academic Activity

It is regulated by elected bodies: the Scientific Council of the Institute, made up of full-time PhD professors and the Pedagogical Council, made up equally of professors and students representing the 1st and 2nd cycles of studies. The Social Service Institute has, in addition to the ULHT regulations, its own regulations for the Degree and Masters and specific regulations for Internships and Class Delegates.

Teaching

The Social Service Institute is recognized as having one of the most developed and socially appropriate Social Service programs. ISS students are guaranteed academic and professional training in Social Work characterized by a deep attention to human rights and social justice. A qualified, up-to-date, experienced and dedicated faculty offers students the opportunity to acquire their own knowledge and skills in Social Work in a simultaneously rigorous and friendly work environment, stimulating intellectual curiosity, critical thinking and the ability to act. and intervene throughout the training units. In addition to classes and seminars (vocationally face-to-face), teaching is based on a model of organization of internships that is unique in the country: not only due to the number and proportion of the 1st cycle curriculum, but also due to the proximity tutorial monitoring and the quality of supervision shared between the ISS and the Institutions. of internship.

Community connection

The Social Service Institute places special emphasis on interaction with the community, both at an academic and professional level.

The ISS action focuses on three main areas:

• Commitment: working at local, regional and national levels with a wide range of agents and organizations from the social sector, namely in close collaboration with the ISS Internship Commission (on challenging social issues such as social inequalities, exclusion, human rights, social justice, domestic violence, among others). The Institute's commitment to the community allows students to make a better transition from the University to the world of work and to be constantly updated;
• Research Impact: promoting the application of academic research, namely within the scope of GRIESS (Reflection and Research Group in Social Work) on challenging social issues, such as social inequalities, exclusion, human rights, social justice, domestic violence, cultural diversity, among others. others; always with the aim of contributing to the advancement of knowledge and social change.
• Employability: developing students' capabilities through the development of their curricula and internships.

Opening hours

ISS Website