As a living lab where our partners can test-drive their solutions and in which our community can develop many projects with companies and initiatives with proven positive social impact, Nova School of Business & Economics (Nova SBE) has several programs that foster not only the development of academic knowledge but also synergies with stakeholders to transform the world in responsible and inclusive ways.

With these young leaders' future and the development of the country and society in mind, the Ageas Foundation joined forces with Nova SBE to materialize several initiatives. One of those initiatives is Keep Thriving, one of the school's programs that promotes curricular and extracurricular internships for both Bachelor's and Master's students.

With Keep Thriving, students carry out projects developed by the school's student clubs for social and/or environmental organizations through curricular or extracurricular internships. The program with the Ageas Foundation took place for three months. During this time, students had six staff members from the Ageas Portugal Group as mentors helping and guiding them while they were committed to delivering meaningful solutions to the institution at hand.

The program had a large number of applications, a total of 96 for only six available internships, and from the list of social and/or environmental organizations are ABLA, Biovilla, Sapana, Just a Change, NÃM e Fundação O Século.

Andreia Assis Correia, a 2020/21 Bachelor's in Economics student, completed the internship and underlined that she considers "[…] this a precious experience both professionally and academically and also personally. I learned a lot about the work methodology of a great organization, and it was an eye-opener in terms of the social impact that each individual can have. I successfully developed my digital marketing skills, and I think I became more professional and responsible. (…) I consider this a "must-do" program for students who wish to have their first work experience."

The program came to an end last February 4. All involved shared how the program and every stakeholder's participation is crucial so that future leaders can grow boldly without neglecting a culture of impact, thus contributing to a more equitable and sustainable world.