Campus and Community

Futurália: “They come directly to Técnico exhibition stand, the ‘brand’ speaks for itself”

March 21st

Until March 23, Técnico students and professors will be at the Lisbon International Fair (FIL) to share their experiences.

Several visitors tug at the sleeves of their group mates’ shirts pointing towards the Formula Student car parked in the middle of Futurália. The blue colour on the floor and walls of this exhibition stand leaves no room for doubt – this is the place allocated to Instituto Superior Técnico. Futurália began on March 20 at the Lisbon International Fair, Parque das Nações. Técnico students and professors will showcase the school’s training offer until March 23.

Carlos, a secondary school student (12th grade), says he is interested in Computer Science and Engineering and in visiting the Técnico stand because some of his relatives and friends studied here. “It’s an institution that conveys confidence”, says the student from Sertã, who sees Técnico as “a highly prestigious institution with very high-quality teaching”. Salvador, also a 12th grade student from Benavente, says “Técnico will be his first choice because of the opportunities it offers and the prestige it has”.

Moments before, the student had been clarifying questions with Técnico students from the Student Support Unit (NAPE), who were answering visitors’ questions and sharing their experiences of academic life. Miguel Isidoro, a second year Aerospace Engineering master’s student, came to help out at the event for the second time and says “as usual, the Técnico exhibition stand is very busy”. The Técnico student pointed out that visitors spontaneously look for the stand. “They come directly to Técnico exhibition stand; the ‘brand’ speaks for itself”, he says, recalling that when he was in secondary school he also knew Técnico “because of the high admission averages” and “because of the top engineering courses”. He says he heard from family members “if you want to study Engineering, you have to go to Técnico”.

Pilar, a student from Algés, actively looked for the Técnico stand during her visit to Futurália, as she considers it “the best [college] in Portugal”. “I have a lot of friends studying at Técnico and they speak very highly of it”, she explains, adding that she wants to study Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering to “learn how boats work” and that she is convinced that her future will be “somehow related to the sea”.

According to Beatriz and Inês, both from Nazaré, “Técnico is ‘the’ engineering school”. “As soon as I considered studying engineering, I thought I’d come to Técnico”, says Inês. She’s interested in doing lab research and believes that the school can help her with that. Beatriz prefers to leave the future more open for the time being, but argues that “talking to people makes it easier to understand “the degree programmes and career options”. That’s why the two friends spent many minutes explaining all their doubts to Cláudia Lobato da Silva, a professor at Técnico and coordinator of the Undergraduate Programme in Biomedical Engineering, who is participating in Futurália for the first time. “Attendance is proving to be a success, with many 12th grader students who are about to make decisions and others much younger – we’ve just had a group of 9th grade students” she explains. “This event is fundamental to providing as much information as possible, especially in a way that goes beyond what is written on a website”, she added, also stressing the importance of “a more humanised touch” in what she considers to be a “decisive phase” for the students’ future, trying to “adapt the speech” so that “each student can feel unique”.

Several hundred visitors have already passed by the Técnico stand. Until March 23, dozens of Técnico students and professors will answer questions and help future university students plan their future.

March 20 (Wednesday)