“Are you ready to root for Técnico?” Rogério Colaço asked the dozens of students attending the welcome ceremony on the third day of Welcome Week. With an enthusiastic response from the audience, the president of Instituto Superior Técnico moved from metaphor to action saying “so grab the bags [filled with merchandise items], open them and put on the t-shirt that’s inside”.
The challenge was on. A few minutes later, wearing the Técnico t-shirts, the group photo was taken, including the new undergraduate students who were welcomed that day: Biological Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Environmental Engineering and Chemical Engineering.
“I’m very happy and proud to have you here”, said Rogério Colaço as he continued his speech. “You’re not the best students in the country because you got good grades; you got good grades because you’re the best students in the country”. He also emphasised “even when your grades aren’t as good as you’d hoped, you’re still the same people, the best students, scientists, researchers, engineers and citizens of our country”. “If you like the idea of building a Formula One car or a satellite, if you are interested in making a newspaper or doing theatre, if you enjoy singing or making music, you have the space to do it here, through the Students’ Organisations, ‘tunas’, Students’ Union”, he said.
A few steps ahead, inside the Civil Engineering Building, Khadeeja is talking with friends, waiting to be assigned a mentor who will accompany them as students on mobility programmes. The Brazilian student joined the Master’s programme in Environmental Engineering but already knew Técnico, as her boyfriend did his Master’s here and shared a very positive experience. “He really enjoyed studying here – the engineering teaching here is much more ‘friendly’ than in Brazil, and that’s what caught our attention”, she explains.
Hauke and Pascal are also in the same field of study as Khadeeja. “Lisbon is beautiful”, shares Hauke, which helped him choose Técnico. Pascal, on the other hand, wants “to get in touch with the technologies and energy sources that other countries are using, improve his English and learn some Portuguese”. To this end, the two German students plan to take part in the weekend activities – the Welcome Weekend – which include Lisbon and Sintra tours, a surf baptism and contact with Portuguese gastronomy, among other opportunities to make it easier for students participating in mobility programmes to feel “at home”.
The activities to welcome new students continue throughout the week, also at Taguspark campus, in Oeiras.
More information: First Steps at Técnico | Student Guide
Welcome Week daily news:
First day – Técnico welcomes new students on the first day of Welcome Week
Second day – New students arrive at Taguspark campus searching for Técnico’s “prestige”
Fourth day – Students’ organisations and socialising during Welcome Week – because “Técnico isn’t just about going to classes”
Fifth day – Newcomers and hosts: new beginnings on the last day of Técnico Welcome Week
Family Information Sessions – Welcome Week – What do students’ families have to say about Técnico?
