On 23 and 24 January 2025, the retreats of the EPIC Consortium’s +Digital and +Student intermediate pathways took place in Leiria.

The EPIC project – Pedagogical Excellence and Innovation in Co-creation – brings together six higher education institutions to innovate in pedagogy and improve the student experience. It is led by UMinho and has a partnership with the University of Aveiro and the University of Beira Interior, IPCA, IPVC and IPLeiria. This project is part of the Impulso Mais Digital investment programme, with financial support from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), under the management of the Recovering Portugal Mission Structure and the Directorate-General for Higher Education, aimed at creating Centres of Excellence for Pedagogical Innovation.

CIEd researcher Joana Casanova took part as a facilitator in the +Student programme: Designing, implementing and evaluating strategies to increase academic success and student well-being, with a view to reducing dropout rates, particularly in the first year of study cycles, giving a talk on ‘What factors are associated with academic success?’ and CIEd researcher Susana Caires took part in the +Digital programme: Digitally transforming teaching and learning using digital technologies.