This contribution presents the preliminary results of a qualitative study involving 20 university students (aged 18-25) who participated in an individual career counseling intervention at the Larios Laboratory, University of Padua. The intervention was developed within an updated Life Design paradigm, grounded in inclusive and sustainability-oriented perspectives (Guichard, 2022; Soresi & Nota, 2023), and aimed to foster not only career adaptability, but also critical thinking, ethical awareness, and future-oriented professional visions in response to current global challenges.
The five-session intervention (1 hour per session) integrated narrative tools such as My Career Story alongside reflective activities (Savickas, 2011; Hartung & Santilli, 2024). These activities supported participants in exploring the intersection between their social and professional identities and the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, encouraging them to consider how individual career choices can contribute to social and environmental transformation (Cadenas & McWhirter, 2022). The intervention emphasized the development of critical consciousness and the use of utopian thinking as a strategy to foster socially responsible life design processes (Santilli et al., 2025).
Before and after the intervention, students completed a questionnaire and responded to open-ended questions exploring their motivations, future time perspective, career adaptability, and satisfaction with both the counselor and the counseling activities. The findings highlight the potential of integrative, narrative-based career interventions to empower university students in constructing meaningful, ethical, and sustainability-driven professional pathways aimed at promoting future social justice (Duarte & Cardoso, 2018).


Keywords: Career Counseling 5.0, Utopian Thinking, Narrative Counseling, University Students
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