Students are everywhere, they wear cyan blue t-shirts and they move around in groups. 210 young people aged 12 to 15 years came to learn more about Técnico, during “Verão na ULisboa”, the Summer School organised by Universidade de Lisboa (ULisboa), which involves its 18 schools. This week, July 3-7, the Alameda and Taguspark campi welcomed 3rd cycle students (Basic Education).
They arrived at Técnico with different motivations. Some students came to decide what to study in the future, others to better understand the mysteries of science. On the second day, even those who came “forced by their mother” like Madalena, or by their mother’s suggestion, like Eliana, admitted “It’s being fun”.
The experiments conducted by the Physics Student Organisation at Alameda campus were “interesting and varied”, says João, a 13-year-old student, and the “versatility” of the biomedical sciences activities did not go unnoticed with “an invention to prevent or cure the growth of an extra bone in the skull of young people”.
Making video games is within everyone’s reach: it’s as simple as watching a tutorial, creating the base game and adding objects to it (coins, enemies, prize chests). Once you have passed the levels, the game is done. Leonor and Francisco came to Taguspark campus to satisfy their curiosity: “I was curious to come and see the campus. I am very interested in some subjects taught here, such as video game related subjects and coding”. According to Leonor this was “a good opportunity to experiment” and find out if “a tech career fits me”. They both start secondary school in September, so coming to Técnico can help them choose “the right course”.
The Summer School also includes the support of several Técnico students to the activities. Many of them have been supporting this initiative for several years, like Inês Pereira, Industrial Engineering and Management student. She is once again participating at ‘Verão na ULisboa’ due to the “involvement and exchange of experiences between the Técnico students and the participants”. She considers that wearing the grey jersey and leading the younger students “is very rewarding and challenging”. Others, like Diogo Ralo, Electronics Engineering student, were once participants: “I have already been a participant and I think it helps a lot to clarify ideas. There are so many courses and so many universities that it is difficult to choose”.
On the last day, the participants had the opportunity to build and launch several rockets with the help of the Aerospace Engineering Student Organisation (AEROTEC), at Alameda campus, which brought to mind the rocket launching to celebrate graduation (Episode 72 – The rockets launch rod | 110 Histórias, 110 Objectos). The last day at Taguspark campus was marked by the diplomas award ceremony, which brought together families and included a photo of all groups involved in the activities to remember the moment later.
The President of Técnico was in charge of the farewell message. Rogério Colaço praised the Técnico students involved in the activities and expressed his wish “I hope you all meet again in a few years when you come to study at Técnico”.
This week, Técnico welcomed almost 210 participants and offered several activities in the areas of Entrepreneurship, Physics, Architecture, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Computer Science Engineering, among others. Next week, July 10-14, the two Técnico campi will host about 230 secondary school students.
