Anyone who knows how to program can confirm that much of the time spent in coding involves fixing errors. This is why Pedro Orvalho created MENTOR, an artificial intelligence tool designed to assist students and IT professionals in identifying and resolving inaccuracies in code. The former researcher at Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores – Investigação e Desenvolvimento (INESC-ID) and current Research Associate at the University of Oxford, won the third edition of the ‘Vencer o Adamastor’ Award, an initiative of Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores (INESC) and the newspaper “Público”.
MENTOR was created to automate the process of identifying errors in computer programmes, offering students personalised feedback in just a few seconds. By reducing the clarification required from teachers for simpler questions, the tool also allows teachers to dedicate more time to complex or conceptual student questions, enhancing the pedagogical support they can offer. In addition, instead of directly providing corrections to students, the tool only highlights problems detected in the code, encouraging autonomous problem solving.
According to the Award’s website, ‘Vencer o Adamastor’ aims to reward ‘innovative works by young scientists, developed in Portugal, in the area of information and communication technologies that reveal not only scientific excellence, but also potential for economic development’.
The “Vencer o Adamastor” Award ceremony will take place on 11 April, at 5 pm, at Técnico Innovation Center powered by Fidelidade, and will be attended by Rogério Colaço, president of Instituto Superior Técnico, Arlindo Oliveira, president of INESC, Luís Ferreira, Rector of Universidade de Lisboa, and Fernando Alexandre, Portuguese Minister of Education, Science and Innovation.
The previous editions honoured two other Técnico alumni. Gonçalo Correia was the first award winner for his work on simplifying machine learning models, and, consequently, reducing the carbon footprint of AI and improving efficiency. Manuel Goulão won the second edition of the award for his research work on post-quantum cryptography, aiming to anticipate computer attacks and privacy violations.
