The ceremony of Navigator Academic Merit Award in Management Production took place this Tuesday, 12th March. Five teams presented their projects to The Navigator Company representatives.

“This award is very important and special to our company because it gives Técnico students the opportunity to visit our facilities, to meet our working teams and to help us find many solutions”, said José Ataíde, director at The Navigator Company, who also expressed his desire: “I hope that this relationship we have with Técnico students does not end here and that they continue curious about our company and still wish to work with us”.

One member of each team made a Pitch: Identifying a problem, the working method chosen and the search for possible solutions were the topics addressed by the five teams. “I think that this was a very positive experience because now we are better prepared to face the challenges in the workplace”, said Patrick Pereira, spokesman of Bérrio team. “The most difficult challenge we have faced here was to identify the problem and then figure out how we could solve it. It was undoubtley the most enriching experience”, said Pedro Ramos, a member of LEANify team.

Elsa Henriques and Paulo Peças, professors at the Department of Mechanical Engineering (DEM) and jury members, said a few words: “I think it is essential and very important to bring together students and industry”, said professor Elsa Henriques. “We have noticed that you fully accomplished what was asked you to do”, she added. Professor Paulo Peças announced the winning team – ThinkLean – and explained the jury’s choice: “We chose the team that made the best cause and effect analysis, proposed a paradigm-breaking solution and showed how to analyse the problem and the effects of its solution”.

The Navigator Company announced the delivery of a monetary complement to DEM in order to support the improvement of teaching quality.