Polytechnic of Viana do Castelo turns the Camino into a pedagogical tool
The Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo (Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo) presented on the 23rd in Viana do Castelo the closing session of the Pegadas (Footsteps) Project, developed between November 2023 and February 2026. The initiative transformed the Camino de Santiago into a skills laboratory, challenging Portuguese and Spanish young people to learn in the field, outside traditional formats, using the route as a real training environment through concrete challenges and collaborative work.
The session brought together the Alto Minho Intermunicipal Community, the Polytechnic Institute of Porto, the University of Santiago de Compostela, the Galicia Communication Cluster, and Femxa, members of the consortium coordinated in Portugal by the Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo. The Pegadas Project was co-financed by Interreg VI-A Spain-Portugal 2021-2027.
During the presentation, methodological conclusions highlighted the need to strengthen the digital component of the training model, support businesses linked to the Camino, reduce seasonality, and extend the model to other European cultural itineraries. With the formal conclusion of the project, the materials, policy recommendations, and tools developed over the three years remain available.
The project involved around 250 young people, of whom 158 took part in nine expeditions in Portugal and Spain and more than one hundred completed the training pathway. The bilingual e-learning platform registered 240 participants and, at the time of the review, 76% were employed or studying, while about one quarter had been unemployed when they enrolled.
Initially aimed at young people aged 18 to 29 who were unemployed and outside the education system, the project was later extended to higher education students, including those from the School of Business Sciences of the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo. Of the expeditions carried out in Portugal and Spain, the Central Route was the most used, while the possibility of including other routes in future editions remains open.
