“I’ve been to several open days at different engineering schools and the one I liked best was the Open Day at Técnico.”
“Why Técnico? Because it’s the largest engineering school in the country.”
“When I was little and heard about Técnico, I decided that I wanted to get in here.”
Three testimonies – Beatriz, Eduardo and Guilherme. She is an Aerospace Engineering student, they are Mechanical Engineering students. They come from places as diverse as Fronteira, Alcabideche or Póvoa de Santa Iria. However, as different as their paths have been to date, they now share something in common – their enthusiasm for having managed to get into Técnico.
“I’m interested in things like airplanes, flight stability… I really like the projects developed at Técnico and I’d like to take part in some of them”, says Beatriz. Eduardo believes that the school has “the best-equipped campus and the greatest reputation”. Guilherme says he’s “looking forward to meeting new people” in what is considered to be “the most renowned Faculty”.
These are just three of the 428 students who attended the first day of Técnico Welcome Week. The route will be the same throughout the week – it all starts at the Main Building’s entrance, where the new students are welcomed. Some nervousness can be seen in the students’ faces but it is quickly replaced by the enthusiasm to meet their classmates.
They are then taken to the room where the ‘mentor-mentee match’ takes place – the chairs arranged in multiple circles around the room delimit the places where the mentors, volunteer students from more advanced years, will meet their mentees. Carolina, a fifth-year Mechanical Engineering student, and Beatriz, a third-year Aerospace Engineering student, are members of the Student Support Unit (NAPE) and Mentors who are welcoming the new students.
“The mentors had initial training last week and they were briefed about everything that was going to happen”, explains Carolina, who participates in the Welcome Week for the third time. After she got into Técnico and participated in the ‘mentor-mentee’ initiative, she decided to be part of this event but this time helping those arriving for the first time. Beatriz was a mentor last year and highlights “the students’ desire to get to know each other is obvious. People are already asking to join the same group of mentors”.
After this ‘mentor-mentee match’ moment, the students have the opportunity to visit the Técnico and Universidade de Lisboa partner banks, Santander Bank and Caixa Geral de Depósitos, respectively, where they can open a student bank account and collect their student card. In the morning, they will also visit the Students’ Union Fair, where they will be able to see the different initiatives that Técnico student organisations are developing and which will facilitate their transition to the university.
Several presentation sessions will take place in the afternoon, during which students will meet their professors, the tutor they have been assigned (who will accompany them until graduation) as well as initiatives organised by the Academic Development Unit that will help them achieve academic success. The Aerospace Engineering and Mechanical Engineering presentation sessions take place today. Técnico will welcome more students until the end of the week.
More useful information is available at First Steps at Técnico.
