The Técnico Innovation Center powered by Fidelidade hosted, for the first time, TecStorm, Portugal’s largest university competition, from 28 to 30 March. The open day in summit format, preceding the competition, was also a novelty at the 9th edition, organised by Junitec, the junior enterprises at Técnico.
Participants were able to compete in one of five categories – one more than in 2024 – each supported by a sponsor: healthy & green living in a digital world (Sonae), connected communities & digital inclusion (Vodafone), inclusive smart mobility for all (Brisa), digital energy & smart revolution (Galp) and sustainable smart construction (Mota-Engil Next). The competition covered five main areas: health, connectivity, mobility, energy and construction.
In the final phase of the competition, seven teams per category, with a maximum of five members each, develop a prototype for the innovative idea that has already passed ‘several phases of ideation and mentoring’, to ‘ensure that they are prepared for […] the 24-hour marathon’, explains the organisation. ‘In an environment of intense collaboration and learning,’ the participants ‘join forces to overcome challenges, explore new approaches and create solutions that can have a significant impact on society,’ concludes Sofia Vicente, marketing manager of TecStorm’25.
Francisca Quaresma, a 3rd year undergraduate student in Aerospace Engineering at Técnico teamed up with four colleagues to create PreçoPerto, an app that allows users to find the cheapest and nearest shopping area with the lowest occupancy rate, based on their shopping list. The idea is to ‘aggregate the three functionalities for the customer to make the best choice’, allowing for a ‘personalised experience through the profile created in the app’. One of the team’s aims is to make ‘connectivity fairer, more equitable and more dynamic’, which is why local businesses are also part of the project.
After signing up on her own last year, Rita Ramos, a computer engineering student at another institution, came with Débora Alves and Leonor Filipe, students on the same course. Rita Ramos returned from Coimbra to participate in TecStorm for a second time because ‘[last year] was very good’. Their project idea is to ‘reduce road accidents and prevent risky situations’. As for the ability to develop it in time, Leonor Filipe jokes: ‘it’s a hackathon, the mindset is that there’s enough time for everything’.
Building the prototype of a device for preventing heatstroke in children and the elderly that allows users to measure various physiological parameters and monitor them via an app. According to Rodrigo Saraiva, a member of a group of five 1st year master’s students in Biomedical Engineering at Técnico, this was their mission at Portugal’s largest technological marathon of university students.
TecStorm aims to ‘give university students the opportunity to explore their creative and innovative potential, creating disruptive solutions with a real impact on society’, at no cost to participants. ‘Food, transport, accommodation and technical equipment’ are provided by the organisation ‘so that the students can focus on creating and developing their projects’.
Winners of the 9th edition of Tecstorm:
TreinAI – António Pedro, André Silva, Eduardo Félix and André Félix (connected communities & digital inclusion)
Watts Better – Inês Fernandez, Catarina Palmeirão, João Rodrigues and Beatriz Carvalheira (digital energy & smart revolution)
Vision Aid – Leonardo Cardoso, Juan Lopez, Ilyan Amad and Pedro Macedo (inclusive smart mobility for all)
AquaLab – Guilherme Cruz, Gonçalo Ferreira and Dinis Roxo (sustainable smart construction)
ShopWise – Inês Marques, Clara Rodrigues, Tiago Branquinho, Eva Martins and Diogo Falcão (healthy & green living in a digital world)
