In a record-breaking edition of the Award for Professionals in the Career of Support for Teaching, Research and Extension (PAEPE), with 297 projects submitted and 1.103 staff members as authors, the Faculty of Education at Unicamp (FE-Unicamp) had as its winner the project Commission for Integration and Social Well-being (CIBES), an initiative that has been transforming the organizational climate of the unit since 2023.
Created in April 2023, CIBES was born with a simple yet ambitious purpose: to care for people. Through integration, health, culture, and welcoming initiatives, the commission seeks to strengthen ties between staff, faculty, and students, promoting belonging and well-being in the academic routine.
The project submitted to the PAEPE Award is authored by PAEPE staff members Jéssica de Freitas Ferreira, Juliana Marques Lourenço, Lucas Ferreira Santos, and Renato Robert Proto Tartarotti, in partnership with professors Eliana Ayoub and Kelly Cristine Sabino, and scholarship recipient Eliane Aparecida Gonçalves Conceição, who were part of the committee during the first two-year period (2023–2025).
A commission born from a collective dream.
The idea for CIBES arose from informal conversations among staff members who felt something was missing beyond the traditional end-of-year activities. Juliana recalls that it all started as a desire to "do some things at the university that would bring people closer together," until it consolidated into an institutionalized and permanent commission. "Creating this came from a dream, and now we see that it is bearing fruit," Juliana summarizes, commenting on the journey that led to recognition with the PAEPE Award.
Lucas, who has been at FE-Unicamp for 11 years, highlights that the commission addresses a long-standing challenge: bringing together groups that tend to remain separate in daily university life. “We realize that it’s difficult to have joint actions. Each category stays in its own little world, and the commission promotes actions to integrate staff, faculty, and students and to consider their well-being,” he explains.
Integration, inclusion, and health as key areas of focus.
Since its creation, CIBES has organized birthday parties for those born in the month, the FE-Unicamp Integration Festival, the unit's get-together party, as well as the welcoming ceremony for new students and tribute to retirees, which have become significant moments in the faculty's calendar.
In the field of health and well-being, the 2023–2025 biennium report records a series of actions: Pink October, Blue November, and Golden August campaigns; discussion groups on mental health and education; workshops on "Taking Care of Yourself: Movement Practices," in partnership with Laborarte; acupuncture activities offered as part of the "Unicamp in Family" event; and the 1st FE-Unicamp Walk – Walking Together: Health and Well-being, held with the support of the Social Benefits Management Group (GGBS) and the Community Health Center (CECOM). For example, the walk had 131 registrations and the effective participation of approximately 80 people, with health check-ups and referrals to groups and programs for continued care.
These actions are complemented by communication and memory initiatives: physical murals in the unit, constant photographic documentation, and participation in the Unicamp Professionals Symposium (SIMTEC) with a poster about CIBES.
"A human side that doesn't show up in the numbers"
For Jéssica, the award rightly recognizes a dimension of the work that usually goes unnoticed in productivity reports. “CIBES has a human side that we generally don't see in our profession. It shows that we also care about this, beyond the technical aspects,” she says.
She emphasizes that the project gains importance in a post-pandemic context, in which many bonds needed to be rebuilt: "It's a way for us to be together, share spaces, and do a good job with mental health and well-being in mind, not just with technical efficiency."
Lucas recalls that, amidst spreadsheets and bureaucratic demands, the commission's activities became a refuge: "Thinking about CIBES's affairs and carrying out the actions was an escape from this heavier work, a way of caring for human beings that is very meaningful to me."
An episode recounted by the group illustrates the emotional impact of these actions: during a birthday party, someone commented that it was the first birthday party they had ever experienced in the country. This account highlights how simple gestures of welcome can profoundly mark the experience of someone arriving at university.
Surprise and recognition in a record-breaking edition.
The news of the award came as a surprise to the committee members. "We didn't imagine it. There were almost 300 projects in total from Unicamp," recalls Jéssica.
For Juliana, the recognition shows that caregiving actions are also understood as strategic work for the university: “It’s very gratifying to see that that initial dream has become an institutionally recognized project and that today it inspires other people to want to participate in the committee.” Renato highlights the visibility conferred by the award, which can lead other members of the academic community to value the strengthening of more humane relationships in the workplace.
In fact, after the consolidation of CIBES, more staff and students began to seek out the group to engage in its activities. The commission also attracts the attention of other Unicamp bodies, such as CECOM and GGBS, which have expressed interest in seeing similar experiences replicated in other units.
Alignment with Unicamp's guidelines and potential for inspiration.
In its application form for the PAEPE Award, the project highlights its connection with Unicamp's PLANES program, especially regarding the promotion of a democratic, fair, and inclusive university. By investing in integration, welcoming, and quality of life, CIBES directly contributes to the institutional mission of educating people in their academic, social, and human dimensions.
The local evaluation committee awarded the project high marks in criteria such as effectiveness, relevance, innovation, integration, continuity, and replicability, which reinforces its potential as a benchmark for other teaching and research units.
For the members of CIBES, however, the most important thing is the bonds built day by day. “We spend more time here than at home. It’s great to feel that FE-Unicamp is a place where we also feel at home,” says Juliana. “We’ve become friends. That’s priceless.”
About the PAEPE Award
Created in 2011, the PAEPE Career Professionals Award The award annually recognizes projects by technical and administrative staff that contribute to the improvement of Unicamp. The 2025 edition, held on December 1st, highlighted ten university-level projects and awarded the best from each unit and department.
For the Faculty of Education community, CIBES's victory reaffirms that caring for people is also part of what university life is all about — and that integration, inclusion, and well-being can (and should) be structuring principles of academic life.
