Student Ombudsman Office

Message

From the Student Ombudsman Office

I thank the students of the Politécnico de Leiria for the trust they have placed in me by electing me as Student Ombudsman.

On 6 July 2016, you conferred upon me the position in which I propose to repay your trust, as I had occasion to say in the speech I made then.

I will try to perform a proactive ombudsman role that will eventually require the study of general problems affecting students and the assessment of the possibility of contributing to their resolution. For this to be possible I count on you in the certainty that, although my main function is the defence of the rights, freedoms, guarantees and legitimate interests of students, it will have to be ensured through informal means, because in the last instance it is the instituted powers that can deliberate.

Pedro de Matos Gonçalves

Students’ Union

President of the Academic Association of the Polytechnic University of Leiria

André Pereira

Presidente of the Student’s Union
aaipleiria@my.ipleiria.pt

“The role of the Student Ombudsman is established under the Legal Regime of Higher Education Institutions (Law 62/2007), Article 25, with the primary mission of protecting, defending, and addressing the legitimate rights and interests of students. At our institute, this role is held by Professor Pedro de Matos Gonçalves, who acts as a fundamental and impartial liaison between the students and the Polytechnic.

Professor Pedro Gonçalves has carried out his mandate with an attitude of great approachability and availability, spanning across all schools of the Polytechnic. His work has been characterized by active listening and a relentless pursuit of solutions that ensure a fairer, more inclusive education system capable of responding to the needs of our academic community.

The Academic Association of Polytechnic University of Leiria recognizes the vital importance of the Ombudsman and reaffirms its total commitment to collaborating with the work developed by Professor Pedro Gonçalves. We deeply value his constant support and the dedicated manner in which he has worked alongside the student representative structure to ensure that every student’s voice is heard and respected within the institution.”

André Pereira

politécnico de leiria

Student Ombudsman

The person students can count on.

pedro de matos gonçalves

Student Ombudsman

Mission

At Politécnico de Leiria, there is a set of departments and people available to welcome and help students, whenever they need: teachers, the course coordinator, the Pedagogical Council, the Students’ Union, among others.

In cooperation with these entities, the Student Ombudsman is an independent and elected by students governing body. It is responsible for evaluating the students’ complaints and, according to their evaluation, make pertinent observations to the competent departments, as well as making generic recommendations with a view to safeguarding their interests, especially in the field of pedagogical activity and school social action.

students ombudsman

What we do

The Ombudsman’s activities are carried out together with the schools’ pedagogical councils, the Student Support Services and the students’ unions, according to the law.
It is the Obudsman’s duty to consider students’ complaints on pedagogical issues and connected administrative matters, as well as on other aspects of their academic lives, and to issue the adequate recommendations for the prevention and solution of the verified situations to the competent bodies of Politécnico de Leiria.

Student Ombudsman

FAQs

You can book an appointment to meet us in person, at the Politécnico de Leiria’s headquarters, at Rua General Norton de Matos, in Leiria.

You can also get in touch by email (provedor.estudante@ipleiria.pt) or by phone: (+351) 244 830 018.

The Ombudsman cannot guarantee a solution for each exposure as it is not an executive body. He assures, however, that all the matters will be carefully analysed, with independence and discretion, developing all the efforts so that the rights of the students of the Politécnico de Leiria are respected and so that their relationship with the different bodies/services is fair.

The Student Ombudsman plays an eminently interdisciplinary role, acting as a mediator in relations between students and the formal bodies of the Politécnico de Leiria and the Schools, in seeking the concrete resolution of problems and conflicts that are not overcome at other levels and once the other institutional mechanisms have been exhausted.

The Ombudsman develops its action in articulation with the Student Associations and with the bodies and services of the Institute, namely with the Pedagogical Councils, as well as with its Schools and other organic units.

Absolutely.

The duty of confidentiality is extended to all those whom the Student Ombudsman requests to collaborate or who have any kind of intervention in the process.

In addition to the duty of confidentiality, the complainant may choose, when submitting the complaint or claim, to request that his or her data be treated with absolute confidentiality and not be disclosed in the course of the investigation of the case. In this case, the data will only be known within the scope of the Ombudsman’s service.