Thirteen students from six different courses were divided into four teams for the final presentations of the Start to Spark programme, which promotes entrepreneurship and innovation. The initiative guided Técnico students from the development of their ideas to their market proposals. The Demo Day took place on 6 June, in the C10 room of the Main Building at Técnico – Alameda campus. Four teams presented their concepts in pitch format, focusing on various areas including health, life sciences, well-being and the environment.
Start to Spark aims to stimulate creativity and collaboration among students, equipping them with essential entrepreneurial skills. The programme consists of multiple stages, including design, prototyping, and pitch presentations. Participants included students from the 1st cycle of the Integrative Project curricular unit in Biomedical Engineering, Biological Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Management, Chemical Engineering, and Applied Mathematics and Computation.
A wearable technology that detects symptoms of stress and offers real-time relaxation guides to combat these symptoms (Equilibrium); adhesive sensors connected to an app that track muscle contraction during physical exercise, optimising performance (MyoTrack); a smart medicine box equipped with Bluetooth technology that indicates which medications to take, when, and in what quantities, especially focusing on accessibility for the elderly (ReMedi); a bracelet that measures electrical activity on the skin and heart rate during cognitive-behavioural therapy sessions to assist therapists in understanding patients’ emotional responses, particularly when tackling phobias (Sensus). These innovative concepts emerged from the creativity and ingenuity of the participants over five months, including dedicated training sessions within the Start to Spark programme.
The winning idea, announced at the event’s conclusion, was the ReMedi smart medicine box. Pedro Amaral, the vice president of Técnico for Corporate Interface, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, noted that ‘the competition was very close’. He expressed his delight at witnessing such a vibrant initiative grow. Pedro Amaral emphasised the importance of maintaining an innovation mindset, stating, “We are the strongest engineering, science, and technology school in the country, and it is fundamental to extend this innovation mindset into our economy. We truly count on you in this regard”, he addressed the students present.
The initiative was organised by professors Ana Vieira and Tânia Varela – who are also researchers at the Centre for Management Studies of Instituto Superior Técnico (CEGIST) – Miguel Preto, a researcher at the Centre for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research (IN+), and Hugo Silva, a researcher at Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT), as well as Biomedical Engineering master’s students Joana Pinto (now working at IT) and Filipa Neves.
The judging panel comprised Pedro Amaral, Manuel Gaspar (manager at Casa do Impacto), Salomé Azevedo (professor at Técnico, researcher at CEGIST and Value for HealthCoLAB representative), Inês Pinho (Unicorn Factory) and Vicente Garção (PhD student at Técnico, researcher at Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT) and LAMPSY representative).
