Jobshop, the oldest university job fair in the country, returned to the Alameda campus for its 38th edition. The event, organised by the Técnico Students’ Union (AEIST) and part of Técnico Career Weeks, featured debates, workshops and Blitz Meets. The job fair also offered students the opportunity to connect with companies during the jobtalks and roundtables on 28, 29 and 30 April.
“The pharmaceutical industry thrives on innovation”, emphasised Miguel A. Rodrigues, a professor at Técnico, during the final jobtalk of the event. He introduced Smartfreez, a company that originated in Técnico’s South Tower and has achieved a “global impact.” The professor shared what makes the company “special”: it is the “only company that simulates the freezing and thawing of cell therapies” using its own cryopreservation systems. Additionally, it represents a “synergy between academia and global industry, as well as collaboration among professors, students, researchers, and entrepreneurs”. Miguel A. Rodrigues believes that the Jobshop serves as an “excellent” platform for recruiting people who share similar interests, but, above all, it “challenges students and professors” to inspire each other, fostering the “technological environment that Técnico offers”.
At one of the booths in the outdoor tent, Tiago Nunes and Francisco Sêco, students of Electrical and Computer Engineering, were promoting TLMoto, which is looking for new members. “We’re the only ones in Lisbon building a competition-grade electric motorbike entirely designed by students”, said Tiago Nunes, who is participating in the event for the second time. Tiago Lopes, a first-year Aerospace Engineering student, was exploring the job fair for the first time. “I came here today to learn more about the students’ organisations, talk to people from JUNITEC and Formula Student Lisbon (FST), which are the ones that interest me most”, he explained. For the student, making “in-person” connections with companies is more beneficial than online interactions, and he made the most of the first day of the fair to look for internship opportunities. On the other side of the tent, Luísa Ropio, one of the representatives from Indie Campers, was answering questions from students visiting the motorhome hire company’s booth. “They ask us why we need so many engineers. We need to optimise our business and, to do that, it’s essential to have a good website, with front-end and back-end design”, she explained.
Liliana Silva, a first-year student master’s student in Engineering and Management of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and a member of Jobshop’s organising team, believes the event is always “a good experience for everyone”, both for the companies, which take part “specifically to recruit students”, and for the students, who have the opportunity to network and find out “what is being done in Portugal”. She also highlighted that returning to its former venue, at Alameda Campus, contributed to the increase in visitor numbers. “It’s been excellent! Companies prefer it, students prefer it; it’s great to hold this event here again, right in the heart of Técnico”. On the final day, the student highlighted the work carried out by the team: “I think it’s incredible that the students’ union has been organising this event for 38 years without interruption”.
