Luis Montuenga: "The way each teacher lives their life is the best textbook and the best class professional ethics."

The Core Curriculum Institute Core Curriculum ICC) held its 12th workshop the University’s Identity: “Reflecting on the teaching Professional Ethics at the University.” Professors from various Schools, as well as experts from other institutions—including bioethicist Xavier Symons—discussed the integration of ethics into the training future professionals, and agreed that ethics is not so much a complement to Education as it is a pillar of training linked to human flourishing and the common good. 

Throughout the workshop, topics such as professionalism, the social teachings of the Church, and the impact of artificial intelligence on Education were also discussed.

Symons, a professor at Australian Catholic University, delivered the lecture , in which he reflected on the concept of the profession and professionalism. He noted that practicing well means “orienting one’s professional life toward the good” and emphasized the importance of moral virtues in professional identity. He insisted that ethics “must be taught from the very first day of the degree program,” so that students understand that their professional decisions are part of a project of social improvement. In his remarks, he also emphasized that training must help build professionals of integrity—not merely technicians— always connecting professional work with the common good of society.

Next, the roundtable Professional Ethics and Professionalism" brought together professors from various disciplines. Luis Montuenga (School of Science) emphasized that ethics is learned through everyday examples: “It’s not just about the big dilemmas, but about the decisions we make every day.” He also explained that a professor’s attention —such as advocating for good practices without being authoritarian—teaches more than theory. “Each professor’s way of life is the best textbook and the best class professional ethics,” he added. Professor Leire Arbea (School of Medicine) added that " professor inner consistency professor students" and that only those who "are authentic and transparent" can truly convey this. And Gonzalo Alonso (Faculty of Education Psychology) called for "greater coordination between instructors of ethics and professional ethics" to train students with strong ethical reasoning, though he admitted they may still lack human sensitivity. Overall, they agreed that ethics must be taught and assessed in internship , rather than remaining an abstract concept, in order to foster a coherent and virtuousprofile .

The next panel explored professional ethics from the perspective of the Church’s Social Teaching during a roundtable Ricardo Piñero (ICC), Jordi Puig (School of Science), and Ricardo Calleja (IESE Business School). During the discussion, it was emphasized that Catholic universities are called to educate professionals capable of integrating skill , moral responsibility, and service to the common good. The speakers emphasized the importance of an anthropology that understands the person as a being oriented toward fraternity and shared life, and argued that professional ethics does not consist solely in resolving theoretical dilemmas, but in living each daily decision with coherence. As Professor Calleja summarized, ethics is “about life, the good, and a righteous heart,” and not merely about correct action. Within this framework, work linked to a profound moral dimension, in which prudence enables one to act with justice and discernment in complex situations.

In the afternoon, a videoconference was held to present the translation of the University of Birmingham’s Jubilee Centre framework for virtue-based professional ethics, featuring the director , Tom Harrison; Andrew Peterson (Head of the Department of Education and Social Justice (ESJ) at the University of Birmingham) ; and Javier Muñoz del Guayo (Chief Compliance Officer at Banco de Santander). The experts explained that training should focus on cultivating character virtues, which are enduring dispositions that go beyond knowledge. The document emphasizes that universities should help develop these virtues through teaching, mentoring, and institutional culture. It also emphasizes wisdom internship prudence) as goal: its exercise guides correct actions in complex contexts. 

In closing, the workshop the idea that the university’s mission involves shaping character, not just the mind. It was concluded that professional ethics, as a set of lived virtues, must plenary session of the Executive Council integrated plenary session of the Executive Council the institutional identity. In this way, the University reaffirms its transformative role: to educate professionals with an ethical commitment, focused on human flourishing and the common good.