Objectives:
This paper presents a structured pedagogical e-portfolio model designed to support students in the early stages of their academic journey in higher education. The core objective is to promote the progressive construction of professional identity and the integration into academic, scientific, and professional communities. The model aligns formal learning with real-world professional contexts, guiding students through a reflective and strategic exploration of career pathways, competence frameworks, disciplinary networks, and developmental planning.

Methodology:
The model has been developed and continuously refined across 16 successive cycles of implementation within an action-research framework, applied over 15 academic years in the context of a bachelor’s degree programme at a Portuguese public higher education institution. The e-portfolio is constructed during the first semester of the study cycle and is structured into ten interconnected components, each grounded in targeted pedagogical and reflective tasks: (1) Competence self-assessment, (2) Curriculum Vitae development, (3) LinkedIn profile construction, (4) Identification of career paths and professional areas (based, among others, on professional guest lectures), (5) Analysis of required professional competences (based on the analysis of current job postings), (6)Mapping of disciplinary resources: associations, networks, publications, (7) Identification of competences fostered by the degree programme, (8)Individual competence gap analysis, (9) Professional development planning, and (10) Evidence of integration into the academic and professional community (by the end of semester one). This e-portfolio also serves as the foundation for a longitudinal mentoring programme carried out throughout the remainder of the degree, in which students are supported by professional alumni mentors to implement and continuously revise their personal development plans.

Results:
Results consistently demonstrated pedagogical effects, particularly in two key areas: (1) students’ capacity to formulate structured and contextually grounded academic and professional goals, supported by labour market data and self-assessment of their competence profile; and (2) their progressive integration into academic, scientific, and professional communities, through the mobilisation of relevant networks, resources, and engagement with the field of practice. These outcomes, consistently observed across multiple implementation cycles, suggest that the model fosters a learning process marked by high formative intentionality, promoting alignment between academic training and the development of sustainable professional pathways.

Conclusions:
The e-portfolio model presented is a pedagogically robust and transferable tool, with strong potential for replication across different fields of education and training. It supports the integration of student-centred learning strategies with professional development practices, while promoting continuity between academic engagement and real-world professional trajectories. As such, it contributes to the ongoing pedagogical innovation in higher education, reinforcing the relevance of formative methodologies that promote employability, reflexivity, and lifelong learning.

Keywords: E-Portfolio, Student Engagement, Reflective Learning, Career Exploration, Higher Education, Professional Field Discovery, Academic-Career Alignment.