There is always the first day when an idea is born. Then comes the intention to spread this idea to others and make it reach those who can decide and make it happen.

The creator of the Newsletter of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon is no longer with us, but there are others who made her dream possible and today report how it all started.

At the time FMUL's Executive Director, David Xavier, current Secretary General of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, received the idea and today, at the distance of the 12 years that separate him since the last time he was a Faculty member, says that he still feels emotion when he thinks about those times and pays great attention every time he receives an email from his old home.

 

We have reached the hundredth edition of a project that is also yours. Please help me understand the purpose of this Newsletter.

David Xavier: Internal communication is central to the strategic development of organizations and when, 12 years ago, the Faculty of Medicine understood that the great balance between internal communication and the way it was projected abroad was the winning model for the institution’s development, it created this tool called NEWS@FMUL, which is going strong. It was necessary not only to respond to the need to communicate what was happening within the organization, but also to demonstrate and communicate the energy of a top organization in Portuguese society by creating a place where all FMUL actors were represented: students, employees, lecturers, researchers, whether current or others who have worked there, or other stakeholders who look to the Faculty of Medicine as a pivotal organization of society.

Thus the challenge arose to communicate inside and externally, maintaining the interest of all. Today, 100 editions later, I can only say that I am very proud of this project that I helped to launch, but above all, I am very happy to know that the project is stable. It clearly depends on the individual work of each one that helps it to develop, but it belongs to everyone, to the Faculty and mainly to society.

 

How did the idea of creating a Newsletter inside the Faculty of Medicine come up?

David Xavier: The idea to create a newsletter made by FMUL’s non-teaching staff for non-teaching staff at was proposed by an employee (Helena Cabeleira). This work started to be done, and it gained dimension, to the point of considering that the creation of an institutional newsletter should be proposed to the Director of the Faculty. Then, the great challenge arose: name, image, sections, editorial team, content...

And the support of the Board was fundamental, whose members believed that this path was essential for the affirmation of the organization's identity, helping internal cohesion.

This should be a digital communication tool for the Faculty aimed at the entire FMUL community, but also for those who, outside this community, wanted to follow what was happening at the Faculty.

 

How was the first team formed?

David Xavier: The first team consisted of people with transversal and complementary skills. We wanted to ensure the involvement of staff from the Faculty's areas of activity who wanted to participate in the newsletter: academic services, advanced training institute, information technology, communication, research support, support for the management of the Egas Moniz Building, the Secretary’s support team.

It was also important to find a business partner (Spirituc) to help us develop the image and the conceptualization of the technological tool that would allow us to autonomously take the path we are celebrating today.

 

We are talking about a Newsletter that was created in November 2008. What were the major constraints at that time?

David Xavier: The main constraint was to find the balance between what we wanted to be maintained in an newsletter for internal “consumption” and proximity among employees, and a newsletter with much greater exposure, whose contents implied standards of rigor and pertinence that could represent the FMUL brand and the university.

Another constriction was the fact that this project was an add on to all other functions that the people who integrated it had. There was some concern about the ability to ensure the continuity and quality of the project, a factor that clearly evolved and led to the professionalization of the structure.

 

With the publication of the hundredth edition, what are your final words to all the teams that kept it alive?

David Xavier: Now that I am no longer at FMUL and I am Secretary General of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, I want to thank you. I want to thank everyone, whenever I receive our news, for making me return to a place where I was very happy.

Thank you!

 

Joana Sousa

Editorial Team