In the Easter holidays of 2022, from April 11th to 13th, Técnico promoted another edition of Rob9-16 Maker Week dedicated to artificial intelligence and machine learning. For three days, primary and secondary school students participated in activities such as Introduction to Machine Learning, Shoot the bug: Training System Programming, and Artificial Intelligence Demonstrations.

With artificial intelligence in mind, on April 11th, 12th and 13th, students from the 3rd cycle of Elementary and Secondary Education exchanged the tables of the schools for the Rob9-16 activity room of Técnico, on the Taguspark campus in Oeiras.

For Margarida and Bernardo, both high school students, but in different years, participation in the activities had different objectives. For Margarida, a 12th grader and months away from deciding her academic future, this opportunity was “vital to align paths and liqueve certainties”. Enthusiastic by Mechanical Engineering, Margarida, a student at Miguel Torga High School, recommends initiatives like this to those who, like her, are looking forward to their entrance to the University.

Playing and learning are things that can happen simultaneously and an example of this were the practical and fun activities that were being presented in this and other editions of the Rob9-16 program. “The monitors made learning each of the activities very accessible and exciting,” says Margarida and Bernardo, on the last day of this program. “The practical component of each activity was never forgotten and this allowed us to know about complex topics, but in a relaxed and playful way.” “I know I’m going to want to come home and retest some of the exercises I’ve done here,” adds Margarida.

Bernardo, a student at Coruche High School, told us about his experience in the activities of these three days and his concern about entering the University in two years: “I am in 11th grade and I need to start thinking about the areas I like the most, as I like so many, I need these experiences to help me decide”. Between the enthusiasm brought by this week’s activities and the concern for the future, Bernando says: “The important thing is to ensure that I have the best grades so that this does not prevent me, after deciding the area I want, to enter the course I want for lack of adequate average”.

Caroline, monitor in this initiative and student of Engineering and Industrial Management at Técnico, explains that the participants were very interested and were very curious about the activities that were developed. “Having the opportunity to learn, teaching, is a huge privilege, we feel that with these activities we touch the lives of each of these young people and that the impact of these initiatives is really positive and decisive.”