Summer at ULisboa – Hundreds of high school students take part in activities and games at Técnico
From July 1 to 5, participants got to know the facilities, student centers and scientific activities developed on two of Técnico’s campuses.
Building bridges, creating video games and breaking down the aroma of an orange into several simpler substances – these are just some of the many examples of Instituto Superior Técnico activities that secondary school students were able to take part in during the first week of ‘Summer at ULisboa’, an initiative that brought them into contact with what is being done at several of the University of Lisbon’s schools. From July 1 to 5, various groups of Técnico students organized experiments, presentations, games and other activities for around two hundred secondary school participants (with the week of July 8 to 12 dedicated to the 3rd cycle in the future).
In hordes adorned with Técnico’s cyan-blue t-shirts, the various groups of participants traveled from one end of the Alameda campus and the Oeiras campus to the other to learn how to program websites, visit laboratories, do physics experiments and many other things. In Oeiras, Rita, a 10th grade student, shares that this is already her third year taking part in ULisboa’s summer activities. “It’s a fun week and different from what we imagined,” she says, explaining that “it’s a good way to get to know the different universities”.
At the Alameda campus on Wednesday morning, participants were also treated to a tour of some of the facilities of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (more commonly known as CERN) in Switzerland, courtesy of Portuguese researcher Ana Peixoto. From the ATLAS control room, with a photo of this detector in the background, the scientist explained the variety of particles that make up the Universe and the mysteries of particle physics that are investigated at these facilities.
Between activities, the students are often found in the shade of the pine trees in the North Garden, exchanging a few words or a few passes with a soccer ball that someone invariably decides to bring. It’s here that they find some time to share what the experience of participating in Summer at ULisboa has been like.
After some Técnico students visited the school she attends in Castelo Branco, Luísa became interested in taking part in a summer school that would bring her to the Alameda campus to get to know the faculty better. Interested in the areas of biomedical engineering and health, the 12th grader describes Técnico as having “a very welcoming atmosphere”. For her, getting involved in the summer at ULisboa “is a very different experience, which encompasses many things that will be useful in the future”. Highlighting activities such as operating a hydraulic claw and building a model of a bridge as her favorites, Luísa recommends that other colleagues take part in the future.
At the Oeiras hub, after having the opportunity to program sensors in a robot car and develop a video game (including combat mechanics, interfaces such as menus and visual and auditory modifications), Manuel praises the experience. “They are very creative and practical activities and that entertains me a lot,” he explains, explaining that “robotics, video games and programming are very interesting”.
About to start his 11th year of school, Guilherme is also satisfied with the program of this initiative, so much so that he’s already considering taking a mechanical engineering course at Técnico. “I know that this is a college with a name for itself and that, when I go looking for a job, it will be relevant that I studied at Técnico,” he explains.