On 8 October, Instituto Superior Técnico hosted a hands-on co-creation workshop that brought together students from Técnico and experts from TEKEVER, a member of the IST Spin-off community and the Técnico Partner Network, to tackle real-world challenges in aerospace engineering, drones, autonomous systems, and advanced navigation.
The participants, divided into themed teams, had the opportunity to explore technical approaches, engage in brainstorming, and structure proposals with a focus on applicability and impact.
Over three and a half hours, the teams dived deep into one of TEKEVER’s proposed challenges, outlining solutions, mapping potential risks, and suggesting strategies for validation.
“I took part in the co-creation workshop with TEKEVER and it was a really interesting experience […] the level of detail required to solve an engineering problem”, shared Gabriela Silva, a student of Industrial Engineering and Management at Técnico, emphasising that “there are so many subsystems involved […] and everything has to coexist”.
The session was led by Luís Caldas de Oliveira, a professor at Técnico and deputy director of the Técnico Innovation Laboratory (iStartLab), and featured moments of structured collaboration. An initial activity helped create cohesion and a working rhythm to tackle the proposed topics. In his own words, “the main challenge in organising these workshops is adapting the company challenges to what we believe are the students’ interests […] formulating the problem is the most important part, and then ensuring that we have people from the company who are aligned with this way of presenting the challenge.”
Throughout the workshop, students were supported by TEKEVER professionals Carlos Fonte, José Luciano, Nuno Matos, Nuno Salgueiro, Marta Silva, and António Relvas from TEKEVER, who brought valuable industry insights and helped deconstruct preconceived ideas. “This workshop was very interesting for TEKEVER and for me personally. It’s great to share ideas with other people and see how we can evolve by stepping outside our usual work environment”, said António Relvas, innovation director at TEKEVER.
Teams used Lego bricks for visual modelling, allowing them to test alternatives quickly and converge on possible solutions. In the final phase, teams presented their proposals in a pitch format, receiving feedback from TEKEVER moderators and fellow participants.
In September, Técnico inaugurated a new Aerospace Engineering Laboratory with the support of TEKEVER to strengthen teaching, research, innovation and link with industry.
TecInnov TEKEVER will be launched soon, offering new challenges and opportunities to turn ideas into impactful solutions.
