Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Porto, through its Faculty of Education and Psychology (FEP) and the Católica Learning Innovation Lab (CLIL), has established a partnership with the Futebol Clube do Porto Museum with the objective of analyzing, restructuring, and scientifically validating the museum's Educational Program. This project aims to ensure that the activities and pedagogical strategies of the Program align with curriculum guidelines and the competencies to be developed throughout schooling, in an accessible, interactive, flexible, and adaptable program.

According to Isabel Braga da Cruz, pro-rector of UCP, "this is an important step that consolidates the mission of Universidade Católica in the third pillar that justifies the growth of a university, which is the transfer of knowledge. Ultimately, it is the transaction of knowledge developed within the institution and passed on to society. For Católica in Porto, this is a natural step, that is having a relationship with the city's institutions. We are inscribed in a territory, in a context, and we work within these relationships. The theme that brings us here today is pedagogical innovation, which is embedded in our strategic development plan and arises from the Faculty of Education and Psychology. We have various collaborations with the city, several areas of intervention, and a very specific ecosystem that allows us to work on these types of interdisciplinary collaborations with the outside world."

Meanwhile, Tiago Madureira, vice-president of Futebol Clube do Porto, highlighted: "the signing of this protocol is something that greatly honors us. The protocol is integrated into the new strategy of rapprochement and openness to institutions that bring the most prestige to society, such as Universidade Católica. In this case, the focus is on the FC Porto Museum, a museum that projects the name of the club, the city, and the country through the hundreds of thousands of visitors it receives annually. The Museum also plays a very important role through its educational program, which was created along with the museum's founding and now sees validation of the work done and the possibility of improving what is currently offered with a differentiated and innovative offer, marking the beginning of a broader collaboration between the two institutions."

The team from UCP, in close cooperation with those responsible for the Museum's Educational Service, will conduct a thorough analysis of the pedagogical axes and activities, identifying key areas for intervention and proposing improvements. "We intend to design innovative educational scenarios that facilitate the curricular integration of the museum's activities, in order to maximize their formative impact and meaningful learning for the students who visit and explore it," explained Diana Soares, coordinator of the Católica Learning Innovation Lab. Mafalda Magalhães, director of the FC Porto Museum, noted, "the protocol represents an important step for the validation of our educational project, which has been evolving over the last 11 years, but we believe that it requires a more profound and adequate reformulation to meet the demands of government educational projects. UCP is a highly prestigious institution, and for us, the signing of this protocol is very important, as we are confident that we will achieve a level of excellence in our pedagogical project, which is essential for the development of the FC Porto Museum."

At the end of this collaborative process, a renewed Educational Program will be presented, where sport serves as an entry point for meaningful learning, informed by active pedagogical methodologies, student-centered, aligned with criteria of pedagogical innovation, and with current curricular recommendations and guidelines.

This collaboration between Universidade Católica and the Futebol Clube do Porto Museum aims to elevate the educational value of the experiences provided by the museum, making them even more enriching and aligned with the current needs and challenges of education.

The signing of the protocol that formalizes this cooperation took place on October 23, 2024, at Universidade Católica in Porto.