The “Com Curso de Ideias Caminhos para a Transformação Social” is an initiative of the Incubadora Social e de Investigação e Inovação (ISSII) [Social, Research and Innovation Incubator], which aims to support the development of social innovation projects with a positive impact in the territories of Coimbra and Cantanhede. Individuals, academic agents (students, teachers, researchers, other academic professionals), civil society organisations and public and private entities operating in the territories of Coimbra and Cantanhede are eligible to apply.

Project ideas can be submitted in various areas relevant to the well-being of local communities, including sociability; housing, use of space and accessibility; culture and participation; safety; health and the environment; ageing; social isolation (of the elderly and young people); mental health (also of the elderly and young people); and ethics of care. This is an opportunity to transform ideas into concrete actions with real social impact.

ISII is a Centre for Impact Entrepreneurship created under the Portugal Social Innovation 2030 programme, developed by the Centre for Social Studies in partnership with the University of Coimbra and the Faculty of Economics. The project also has the support of the Municipal Councils of Coimbra and Cantanhede, as well as the company Crioestaminal and a private donation from Sogrape and Dona Antónia Awards 2023.

The competition will run from 15 July to 3 October 2025, and the winning projects will benefit from support in the development and implementation of their proposals, training and support from a multidisciplinary team, as well as access to workspaces in the cities of Coimbra and Cantanhede.

Applications must be submitted at https://isii.ces.uc.pt/call, where detailed information about the process is available. The complete competition rules can be found at https://isii.ces.uc.pt/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Regulamento-Com-Curso-de-Ideias-2025-final.pdf .