Taguspark Communication, Events and Partnerships Unit (NCEP)

The collaboration between Técnico, Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores – Investigação e Desenvolvimento (INESC-ID) and the Oeiras municipality resulted in dozens of activities over the last three months.

Building a robotic arm, planning a smart city and printing fish fillets – these and other activities carried out at Instituto Superior Técnico have ‘left’ the academy sphere and are now being shared with society. In collaboration with Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores – Investigação e Desenvolvimento (INESC-ID) and the Oeiras City Council, these activities have been introduced to schoolchildren and young people in the municipality, as part of the ‘Engenharia para Todos’ project, an initiative that aims to bring Técnico’s scientific activities closer to various age groups in society and has engaged more than a thousand participants in the past three months.

‘The idea is to connect Técnico’s scientific expertise with society,’ says Maria João Verdasca, the project manager. Among other examples, the initiative supports science clubs in schools. Currently, three clubs in Oeiras are developing the Smart City project, where students learn 3D modeling, electrical circuit assembly and Arduino programming to bring their city to life. These clubs are accompanied at least once a month by Técnico students through the Electronics Engineering Students’ Organisation and ROB 9-16, a robotics and electronics club.

On another front, “Engenharia para Todos” will resume the “Lab In A Box” project in schools. Initially, “Lab In A Box” helped children in Africa to materially familiarise themselves with the concept of a laboratory, carrying out small experiments with low-cost, easily transportable kits. Based on this idea, the project was expanded so that it could also be used in classrooms in Portugal. In this way, “Engenharia para Todos” will offer training to teachers (mostly 1st and 2nd cycle of Basic Education) so that they can explore the curriculum content with their classes in a more practical way, using these kits to carry out experiments throughout the year.

“’Lab In A Box’, focussed on experimental science teaching, will now be promoted by Instituto Superior Técnico”, a “renewed framework” which, according to Maria João Verdasca, ’will allow hosting new experimental activities which, in addition to the natural sciences, will also include engineering and technology.’ ‘In January 2025, a teacher training in experimental science teaching will be organised in Sao Tome and Principe, where local schools will be given kits of materials to encourage experimental teaching in the region,’ says the project manager.

A mentoring project will be implemented for 12th-grade students, encouraging them to develop their own projects based on their interests. There will also be a focus on citizen science projects, such as analysing air quality in partner schools in collaboration with the “Ciência + Cidadã” project and InovLabs.

However, “Engenharia para Todos” doesn’t just focus on younger audiences. Activities involving senior audiences are also planned in the future – some examples include the possibility of joining a volunteer fellowship to support research into robotics, artificial intelligence and digital games, or even taking part in initiatives such as visiting Técnico’s laboratories, hosting scientists for lectures and workshops at senior universities, or attending the Oeiras Science Clubs Meeting.

‘Through practical activities in the classroom and science clubs and visits to Técnico, we have seen children and young people exploring creative solutions to real challenges, demonstrating incredible involvement and a true spirit of innovation,’ comments Maria João Verdasca. The “Engenharia para Todos” project has been received with great enthusiasm by schools and the community, showing the positive impact of initiatives that bring science and engineering closer to people’, she shares.