Campus and Community

Técnico brings higher education and innovation to the public’s attention at the Web Summit 2024

November 19thupdated on November 25th at 15:02

Técnico was the only higher education institution with an exhibition stand at the event. The school community interacted with thousands of visitors.

Henrique Pereira | Instituto Superior Técnico

Researchers, professors, students, alumni, volunteers, and even prototypes and robots showcased innovative projects developed at Instituto Superior Técnico at the Web Summit 2024. The School’s participation in the event showed how ‘innovation and entrepreneurship are a pillar for Técnico, said Rogério Colaço, president of Instituto Superior Técnico.
From 12 to 14 November, several members of the Técnico community participated in strategic meetings with potential new partners and welcomed more than three thousand visitors to the Técnico exhibition stand. More than a dozen interviews were conducted and various news were published in the media.

‘A science and technology school like Técnico – that trains people who will work in these areas and have the talent to innovate, do new things, and create wealth – necessarily involves entrepreneurship and innovation in its training. These are fundamental pillars present in the training of Técnico students and also in the goals and missions of our research centres, which host our professors and researchers,’ said Rogério Colaço.

At this year’s edition, Técnico stood out as the only higher education institution to have its own exhibition stand, which was supported by the Santander Foundation.
On the first day, the presence of Vizzy, the robot designed by researchers at the Institute for Systems and Robotics (ISR-Lisboa), captured the visitors’ attention. Ricardo Rodrigues, a researcher at ISR-Lisboa answered all visitors’ questions. The Técnico alumni José Alexandre Correia, a partner at KPMG (member of Técnico Partner Network), and Joana Pinto, founder of Clynx, shared with visitors how their training at Técnico was essential to their successful careers.

‘Técnico has given me an excellent foundation to get to where I am today. I’m a partner at KPMG thanks to Técnico, which helped me progress in my career,’ said José Alexandre Correia.

‘Studying at Técnico and meeting people with different backgrounds was a very interesting opportunity for me to explore other fields of study and start this passion for innovation. In the meantime, I joined various groups, including Técnico’s Junior Enterprise, JUNITEC. These experiences allowed me to develop innovation and entrepreneurial skills’, added Joana Pinto.

The boat built by the Técnico Solar Boat students’ organisation was showcased on the second day. According to Afonso, a Técnico student and a member of this students’ organisation, the Web Summit ‘gives us the opportunity to contact new sponsors and to get a bigger budget that will help us to do bigger and better things every year’. Rogério Colaço, the president of Técnico, visited the exhibition stand and emphasised the importance of being present at the country’s biggest technological event: ‘Técnico is science, innovation, entrepreneurship, technology and the future, and the future is here at the Web Summit’. On the second day, startups created by Técnico alumni such as SurfACTinnov, Medgical and BreastScreening-AI, were also in the spotlight.

The highlight of the third day was the Baltasar rocket, built by the AeroTéc-Red team of the Aerospace Engineering Students’ Organisation (AeroTéc). Startups such as ENGIBOTS, Strata Tech Labs and Scarlet AI, among others, were the protagonists of conversations that strengthened the collaboration between Técnico and the innovation ecosystem.

Pedro Amaral, the Vice-president of Técnico for Corporate Interface, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, summarised the spirit of the institution’s presence at the event: ‘Técnico has to be at the Web Summit. It’s the leading science, technology and engineering school in the country, the one that produces the largest number of startups, the one that probably produces the largest number of patents, the one that has research units involving all areas of technology.’ ‘It makes perfect sense that Técnico shows how their training, particularly advanced training, impacts the economy. And to anticipate what the future will be’, he added.

AMALIA, the Portuguese large language model (LLM), which will involve the contribution of Técnico researchers, was announced by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, at the Web Summit.