ROB9-16 welding workshop motivates students from Parede’s Professional IT Course
The ROB9-16 robotics and electronics club from the Técnico Polo de Oeiras was at the Agrupamento de Escolas da Parede to run a workshop on soldering for students on the Professional Computer Technician – Systems course. The initiative involved students from all three years of secondary school, giving them hands-on experience with electrical circuits and electronic components. During the activity, students had the opportunity to learn and apply soldering techniques, assemble circuits with their components: resistors, diodes, semiconductors, transistors, LEDs and capacitors.
The 10th grade students had a positive impression of the experience. Daiane Varela, 17, said that “the activity was interesting, I learned things I didn’t know. I’m going to test what I learned today with my cousin who’s studying mechanics”. Rafael Morgado Nunes, 18, said that “it was a project that exceeded my expectations. I may not go into this area, but it was a good learning experience, because you never know about the future”.
For Alexandre Miguel, an 11th grader, the experience was groundbreaking: “We learned how to make a drum set. I thank Técnico for this experience. His classmate Gonçalo Teixeira highlighted the result: “We learned how to assemble a circuit, how to solder and how to make some lights [LEDs] flash”. Afonso Fernandes, also an 11th grader, stressed the importance of these practical initiatives: “It’s always better than just listening in class. This class helped us to know what we want, like robotics and the area of electricity and electronics.”
For the 12th graders, Dinis Rodrigues, said it was “an interesting and freer activity, since we no longer have classes on the hardware part of our course. I think we all find the electronics area interesting”.
The director of the Professional Course in Computer Technician – Systems, Professor Margarida Rodrigues, stressed the importance of these actions: “This initiative is interesting, since students don’t have the facility to have these materials on their course, which is more theoretical and focused on the software component. That’s why we think it’s a good idea to share this knowledge with the students at the school”.
The soldering workshop promoted by ROB9-16 gave high school students from Parede a practical and enriching experience of the world of electronics, complementing their technical training and opening up horizons for future career choices.