Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Entrepreneurship and Leadership were some topics covered in another edition of the Business and Technology Week (SET), an event organised by Técnico students -Taguspark campus. The main stage has moved online and for 4 days the audience almost doubled – as compared to the previous year.
Miguel Oliveira, co-coordinator of SET, highlights “the fair, which has always been held in an in-person format, has moved online, which made us rethink all activities, lectures and exhibition stands. At the same time, we tried to improve the activities that already existed, trying to improve their quality in order to reach a much wider audience”, explains the student.
And there is no doubt that the strategy has worked out very well. From 8th to 11th March, speakers from different backgrounds inspired the audience, exceeding the expectations of SET team. “This year more than ever we have a lot of interesting topics and a great a variety of perspectives”, stresses Joana Drago, co-coordinator of SET. “We have incredible speakers and very interesting topics. The average attendance was much higher than in previous years”, adds Francisca Ferreira, also co-coordinator.
The Speed Interviews and Workshops attendance also increased. The SET team welcomed the positive outcome of the event. “The virtual format allowed us to reach a broader audience. We received very positive feedback on how we adapted the event to an online format and the topics addressed”, says Francisca Ferreira.
The alumni panel included Daniela Tinoco, Telecommunications and Informatics Engineering and Junior Network Engineer at Altran, Miguel Soares Horta, Industrial Engineering and Management and Associate Manager at Mastercard, André Lopes, Electronics Engineering and Embedded Systems Engineer at Bosch, and Catarina Belém , Computer Science and Engineering and Research Data Scientist at Feedzai. The Técnico alumni shared their student experiences and academic life, the transition from university to the job market and their career paths.
The four alumni highlighted the importance of extracurricular activities for employers and gave some advice on choosing the first job. “There is nothing wrong if your first choice is not the right one because there is a long way ahead”.
The alumni were almost unanimous in asserting the importance and value of Técnico graduates for companies. “Being a Técnico graduate is a great advantage and opens a wide variety of job opportunities”, said Daniela Tinoco. “Técnico academic training provides us with very important tools that are certainly much valued”, added Catarina Belém.
More than 40 companies from the most varied areas, such as Outsystems, Celfocus, Deloitte, The Navigator Company, etc, attended the virtual fair through Easy Virtual Fair. However, and despite all efforts, “fewer participants attended the virtual fair. I think that although it is easier to participate in virtual fairs, visitors don’t feel so comfortable and so motivated to participate since face-to-face communication is not possible”, shares Miguel Oliveira. “Even so, I consider that this edition was a success!”, stresses the student.
According to the co-coordinator of SET, “the organisation and coordination of an event of this size is something that will left a mark on our lives”. The team behind the event has more than 50 collaborators. “I feel I have learnt to manage a team and to work in it, namely working together towards common goals and mutual support. I wasn’t expecting that”, highlights Joana Drago. “The lessons I have learnt from this edition are teamwork, leadership, organisation, responsibility and cooperation. I know that I have made friends for life”, says Francisca Ferreira.
