6th edition of the Prize for Pedagogical Excellence Professor Doutor Diogo Freitas do Amaral
- 17 de August de 2026
For the sixth consecutive year, NOVA School of Law is launching the Professor Diogo Freitas do Amaral Teaching Excellence Prize, which was created in 2021 to recognise and promote exceptional teaching practices that address the challenges of modern higher education and facilitate an engaging, transformative and intellectually stimulating learning experience.
In its fifth edition, the award was presented to Professor Jorge Morais Carvalho in recognition of his dedication to teaching and to the academic community, which embodies the essence of NOVA School of Law.
At the award ceremony, Professor Rita Calçada Pires, President of the Academic Council, described the recipient as “someone who, both metaphorically and literally, wears the NOVA School of Law jersey“, highlighting his contribution to the School and to several generations of students.
Professor Rita Calçada Pires further emphasised that “the person receiving the Teaching Excellence Award today is one of the names that will always be associated with our School because of all that he has achieved and the way he inspires students to engage with learning and research in his fields of expertise“.
The award was presented by Filipa Amaral, the daughter of NOVA School of Law’s founder and first dean, Professor Diogo Freitas do Amaral.
Awarding the Prize for Pedagogical Excellence
The Prize embodies public recognition of pedagogical excellence, intending, in particular, to recognize the capacity for pedagogical innovation of its faculty, contributing to disseminating good practices developed in the academic year immediately preceding its attribution, in curricular units of any type.
The Prize is awarded annually and is decided in October of each year with reference to the immediately preceding academic year.
Faculty members or teams of faculty members who have taught one or more degree courses of any type within the degree cycles in the academic year immediately preceding the award of the Prize, are eligible for the award, regardless of the nature of their link to NOVA School of Law.
The members of the Pedagogical Council will present for deliberation the reasoned nominations of six candidates, three nominated by the teaching members and three nominated by the student members.
The deliberation will be preceded by a discussion of the merits of the different nominations, as determined in the light of their justification.
Evaluation
Any reasoned proposals subscribed by one or more faculty members or students of the NOVA School of Law community will be considered. These proposals should be sent to the chair of the Pedagogical Council by email between the first and the last day of September of the academic year following that to which the award refers.
Proposals should be sent during the month of September to conselho.pedagogico@novalaw.unl.pt.
Prize Announcement
The award will be announced by the President of the Pedagogical Council at the NOVA Law School Day ceremony, scheduled for 21 October, which may be attended by a close relative of Professor Diogo Freitas do Amaral.