The Aerospace Engineering Students’ Organisation (AeroTéc) celebrates a decade of existence. To mark the occasion, the organisation brought together students, members, professors and partners at a celebratory gala, held in the Great Hall, at Alameda campus of Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, on 25 March.
“We run AeroTéc with around 200 students; we are one of the largest students’ organisations at Técnico”, shares Sara Casimiro, vice-president of AeroTéc. The students’ organisation has eight distinct projects, four of which are dedicated to building prototypes and “applying more technical knowledge”: the Aeromodelling Club and Flying School (ACE Pilot), ATLAS – Systems & Aeronautics, Blue and the Rocket Experiment Division (RED). The remaining four projects are focused on the community and aim to “extend” the engineering work conducted at Técnico to external contexts: the Aerospace Magazine, Aerospace Week, WEBDEV and the Rockets Workshop. Despite the diversity of projects, the president emphasises that every effort is made to ensure that all members are geared towards “the success of Aerospace Engineering”.
Alexandre Couto, vice-president of AeroTéc, believes that “anything is possible when there is a common goal”, and that this is “the spirit that prevails at Técnico”. He adds that all students’ organisations at Técnico contribute to students’ practical training: “it feels like we are working in the industry, and it’s going very well, because the results are becoming increasingly visible”. He also emphasises that “despite their differences”, the eight projects achieve “international and highly competitive results of the very best kind”.
Matilde Lourenço, technical director of ATLAS, has been involved in the project for two years and explains that the main focus is building an aircraft with “autonomous capabilities for a wide range of purposes, whether competitive or community support missions”. One example is the Ícaro project, which aims to detect forest fires and identify people in isolated situations. “I think it’s wonderful to see the spirit of unity in our laboratory, everyone working together to build something for the benefit of the community,” she says.
As a member of ACE-Pilot and AeroTéc Board, João Portugal views his experience within the group as positive and highlights what he considers to be the group’s most ambitious project, the aircraft competition, which this year focuses on “the glider’s autonomy, tactics and precision”, F5J. “We’re already trying to explore more advanced techniques; it’s a bit more competitive and has helped us secure sponsors, which used to be a major challenge for us”, he explains.
The ceremony included a speech by Pedro Amaral, Vice-President of Técnico for Corporate Interface, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, who emphasised that without “the talent, the pace, the incredible succession of projects led by AeroTéc” and the students’ ability to “make a difference”, it would not have been possible to reach the current level.
Fernando Lau, a professor at Técnico and faculty advisor to AeroTéc, highlighted the “enormous effort” made by Técnico to develop the Aerospace Engineering programme, which started with around 30 students and has grown to become “one of the programmes with the highest enrollment at the School”. According to the professor, “AeroTéc’s visibility, both to students at Técnico and to the external community, is crucial”. In concluding his speech, he called for a strengthening of the Space sector.
The gala also featured a presentation on AeroTéc current projects, as well as the awarding of honorary membership to Fernando Lau and Afonso Vale, and an honourable mention to Filipe Cunha, Frederico Afonso and Alain de Souza, professors at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, for their support and cooperation with AeroTéc and the undergraduate and master’s programmes in Aerospace Engineering.
In a roundtable format, former members of AeroTéc’s steering committee shared their experiences and offered advice to the current leadership and community. The celebration was marked by a birthday cake and an exhibition of various AeroTéc’s prototypes.
Sara Casimiro believes that the next ten years for AeroTéc will be “very promising”. This year, she highlights, among the most recent initiatives, the update of the website and the magazine (which, in its 7th edition, marked the founding of AeroTéc and is now preparing a new commemorative edition).
