On 3 and 4 June, the Main Building at Técnico – Alameda campus, hosted the 2025 edition of MakerIST, an event promoted by HackerSchool and Lounge IST, open to the entire community, which aimed to celebrate “maker culture”. The programme included workshops, demonstrations, exhibitions and interactive activities.
Over the two days, the space was transformed into a fair dedicated to creating and sharing knowledge, bringing together students, organisations and visitors around technology and know-how. The programme included workshops on building macropads and MIDI pedals, experiments with electronic circuits, 3D printing demonstrations and robotics exhibitions, providing direct contact with engineering and technological innovation developed at Técnico.
‘We wanted to show the potential of the maker community, both inside and outside Técnico’, explained João Rodrigues, a master’s student in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a member of HackerSchool, a students’ organisation at Técnico dedicated to developing technological and collaborative projects. “We defend open source, we share knowledge in the areas of technology and the arts. This event is about that – about giving visibility to a movement that promotes sustainable development through collaboration and free access to knowledge”.
At the intersection of art and engineering, the ‘Music Open Hardware’ activity showcased demonstrations of DIY (Do-It-Yourself) pedals alongside a public musical session characterised by improvisation and experimental sounds. This initiative allowed participants to learn about the processes involved in building these devices while experiencing their results in real time.
Many attendees took the opportunity to explore ideas and develop skills in an informal context. ‘I think it gives us a more practical aspect of what we’re learning’, said João Vinagre, a master’s student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Técnico. ‘It’s also important for us to gain autonomy in different learning contexts, where we don’t follow a script and are just exploring ideas’, added Catarina Manuel, a fellow student in the same Master’s programme.
The event was also attended by various organisations linked to free and technological culture, such as FabLab Lisboa, Ansol and Mauser. ‘It’s very gratifying to see these communities supporting the makers, exchanging ideas, all coming together in the same spirit of sharing’, concluded João Rodrigues.
Open to the entire community and free to attend, MakerIST 2025 has established itself as a ‘meeting place for technology, creativity and experimentation’, celebrating ‘making culture’ as a way of learning, communicating and innovating.
