It was from this idea that Vice-Rector for Social Commitment and Sustainability at Universitat Pompeu Fabra – Barcelona Eva Pujadas Capdevila challenged the audience gathered at NOVA FCSH to rethink the role of universities. She clearly advocated a genuine paradigm shift: campuses can no longer be merely spaces for learning, but must instead become environments where citizens are shaped, in a mission “greater than the transmission of knowledge”, encompassing physical, psychological, emotional and social dimensions.
Her contribution stood out as the highlight of the event EUTOPIA “Sustainable Wellbeing Cultures on University Campuses” hybrid event hosted at NOVA University Lisbon on June 18, 2026, within the framework of the EUTOPIA Connected Community Sustainable Well-being for People & Planet / Caring communities.
The opening session featured three members of the rector’s team: Emília Monteiro, Vice-Rector for Education, Academic Life and Health; Manuela Aparício, Pro-Rector for Pedagogical Innovation; and Júlia Seixas, Pro-Rector for Sustainability. Their presence underlined NOVA’s commitment to this dimension of university life and to the work carried out within EUTOPIA.
In her address, Eva Pujadas emphasised ambition as a driver of transformation, highlighting the importance of setting goals aligned with one’s convictions, and stressed the need to move beyond the notion that wellbeing, or its absence, is necessarily linked to pathology. Rather than an abstract concept, she argued, wellbeing should be embedded in everyday academic life and made visible, becoming part of campus culture.
As an example, she presented the Centre for Studies on Planetary Wellbeing at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, created in 2021 to integrate knowledge and promote a culture of wellbeing on campus, acting as a catalyst for collaboration and innovation in these areas. Drawing on this experience, she introduced concepts such as living labs and several dimensions that foster wellbeing in academia, namely a sense of belonging, team engagement, the ability to attract and retain talent, inclusion and sustainability metrics. She argued that these should increasingly become part of the daily reality of institutions.
This vision resonated with the contributions of NOVA’s rectoral team. Emília Monteiro highlighted the need to engage students, identifying this as one of the greatest challenges, and argued that the concept of wellbeing must be accompanied by concrete measures and embraced as a responsibility shared by the entire academic community.
In turn, Manuela Aparício underscored the role of wellbeing in pedagogical innovation, noting that a community that is not well is unlikely to provide an environment conducive to learning. She also reaffirmed the commitment to collaborative work in developing programmes within EUTOPIA.
Júlia Seixas emphasised the inseparable link between wellbeing and sustainability, arguing that “a university can only grow if its various systems function harmoniously” and that this commitment must be reflected in the institution’s mission and strategic plan.
The programme also included a round table and co-creation sessions with students, centred on reflecting on “being, doing and feeling” in the university context, encouraging active participation and the joint development of solutions.
This article was originally published on NOVA website.
Disclaimer
EUTOPIA MORE is co-funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No. 101089699. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
