On 3 October, a picnic was held at Arco do Cego Garden to welcome and strengthen bonds between the new students. The initiative was organised by the Student Support Unit (NAPE) as part of NAPE’s Mentoring Programme which, at the start of the academic year, paired each new Técnico student with mentors.

The original idea didn’t include the Arco do Cego garden – the event would have taken place in the North Garden, at Técnico – Alameda campus, but the turnout was such that a larger venue had to be found to accommodate the 40 or so mentors and 60 mentees who signed up. The event included activities such as playing charades, ball sports and bingo where cards were filled in by finding people with characteristics such as ‘I can do the pin’ or ‘I can speak four languages’, among others.

With his bingo card almost full, Afonso Ornelas, a Mechanical Engineering first-year undergraduate student, shares that he has ‘really enjoyed’ the experience of studying at Técnico. ‘I’ve managed to balance studying and my social life well,’ he shares. The Mentoring Programme has played an important role in integrating him into the new academic rhythm: ‘I felt at home from the very first day,’ he says.

Constança Simões attends the 3rd year of the Aerospace Engineering Undergraduate Programme and, as a NAPE student, provides logistical support for the event. ‘The idea is to encourage students to get to know each other and create bonds’, she explains, adding that ‘the Mentorship Programme has been a success from day one; these small activities that we prepare create bonds between mentors and mentees, a relationship that is very good’. She shares that she also attended these picnics in her first year at Técnico, as a mentee.