Four Computer Science and Engineering students at Instituto Superior Técnico got their Xpand IT scholarships renewed on 30 September. The ceremony took place in the Civil Engineering Museum, at Alameda campus.
Francisco Melo, Vice-President of Técnico for Academic Affairs, stressed that “these scholarships are very important because they allow our students to pursue their dreams” and to focus on their studies “without worrying about the more mundane aspects”. He also called for “the gratitude [of the scholarship holders] to translate into support for other causes”.
Diogo Pinto, one of the students awarded the Xpand IT scholarship, expressed his gratitude to the sponsors, referring to “volunteering” that all scholarship holders are required to do and how this allows them to “give back to society” the support they have received. In addition to Diogo Pinto, students Bernardo Sousa, Francisco Heleno and Pedro Sousa got their scholarships renewed for another academic year.
“Your future is whatever you make of it”, said António Leitão, coordinator of the Undergraduate Programme in Computer Science and Engineering (Alameda campus), after congratulating the students. Unable to attend the event, Pedro Monteiro, coordinator of the Master’s Programme in Computer Science and Engineering, sent his speech, which highlighted this type of initiative as they “strengthen the link between academia and business”.
Marta Alegria, Human Resources Director at Xpand IT, a member of the IST Spin-Off Community, expressed her satisfaction with the significant impact that this support has on students’ lives.
The scholarships are part of the “Missão Aproximar – Educação” Xpand IT programme, which began in 2016 and emerged as one of the pillars of the company’s social responsibility programme. The main objective is to support the academic merit of Computer Science and Engineering students whose social situation warrants this support, thus allowing students greater financial stability during their studies.
The Xpand IT scholarship is one of over 20 scholarships to support undergraduate and master’s students at Técnico.
