The Faculty of Education and Psychology of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (FEP UCP) is developing an international collaboration that brings together History and Psychology to deepen the study of the experience of minors in conflict with the law in Portugal.
The initiative is part of an FCT Mobility Grant and involves Viviane Borges, a professor in the Postgraduate Programme in History at the Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina (UDESC) in Brazil, who has been researching this topic, in collaboration with Raquel Matos, Dean of FEP UCP.
Bridging disciplines to understand complex realities
Based on an interdisciplinary approach, the project integrates contributions from History and Psychology, enabling a more comprehensive analysis of the trajectories and institutional experiences of young people in conflict with the law.
The collaboration has also broadened the scope of the research to include the experience of institutionalisation among both men and women, contributing to the development of new methodological approaches and research with social impact.
Academic cooperation across borders
Under the FCT Mobility Grant, the UDESC researcher undertook a period of mobility in Portugal, spread across two phases, in February and June 2026. During this time, they took part in scientific meetings, academic debates, joint publications and conferences.
These initiatives strengthen cooperation between institutions from different countries and promote the exchange of knowledge across complementary scientific fields, contributing to the consolidation of international research networks.
At the end of the experience, Viviane Borges highlights the importance of this collaboration: “It is very important, both for the development of our research and for strengthening methodological approaches between two distinct fields that engage in very close dialogue, such as Psychology and History.”
Watch the video to learn more about Viviane Borges’s research journey and the impact of this international collaboration.
