During twenty-eight hours non-stop, Tecstorm took place on 4th and 5th March at Técnico. The competition was launched by JUNITEC – Junior Enterprises of Instituto Superior Técnico, one of the several student groups at Técnico, and twenty-eight higher education students took up the challenge.

The most innovative ideas, previously selected among several applications, were developed during two days and, in the end, a prototype was presented to the jury.

The projects were very different: an intelligent greenhouse, a smart home automation (capable of turning off household appliances after the user falls asleep) and an universal cup holder that allows to carry a set of drinks at the same time. “The ideas couldn’t be more original and diverse”, said Ana Rita Oliveira, Vice-President of JUNITEC and responsible for the event.

JUNITEC’s team assisted the participants during the competition. “The balance is very positive. This event required a lot of effort but it was worth it. The result is very positive: the different projects presented here show that, as well as participants satisfaction”, said Ana Rita Oliveira.

There was a sense of achievement by the end of the competition and, “whoever wins, the important thing is to have carried out and delivered the projects”, said one of the participants. The winning team was “IFS Mine Hunters” from Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa (ISEL), which developed an off-road system that aims to economically identify and combat landmines.