Técnico inaugurates a new space for students to develop projects with an impact on society
The room dedicated to Integrative Projects Course was built with the support of Caixa Geral de Depósitos.
On 15 September, Instituto Superior Técnico inaugurated the Integrative Projects Course (PIC) Room, supported by Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD). On the same day, the renewal of the Técnico Partner Network Protocol, which has been in place for over a decade, was signed between the two institutions. The ceremony took place at Técnico – Alameda do campus (Congress Centre).
“Caixa Geral de Depósitos and Técnico have a long and deep-rooted collaboration”, said Rogério Colaço, President of Técnico, explaining that it focuses “essentially on two areas: supporting initiatives and activities that Técnico and Universidade de Lisboa would not be able to carry out without the support of external private partners, and preventing talented students from failing to complete their education due to a lack of financial resources”.
Regarding the space that would be presented to the public moments later, the President of Técnico considered “the PIC room is a very significant change that allows us to achieve more, to further consolidate the reform in student education that has begun three years ago”. This room aims to “create infrastructure and conditions for students to work during their collaborative projects”, concluded Rogério Colaço.
The Integrative Projects Room symbolises the commitment of “both Técnico and Caixa to invest in education”, as highlighted by Miguel Cacho Teixeira, president of the Pedagogical Council. “Técnico has made significant efforts to revolutionize how we transmit and build knowledge together with our students”, he said. “Through the reformulation of our curricula and teaching methods, we have transformed our education”, he added. As a result, all study programmes at Técnico now culminate in an Integrative Project, and this room will serve as a space to facilitate the completion of those projects.
“There’s nothing better than transforming our environment with the people who live and work here”, remarked Miguel Amado, Vice President for Sustainability and Infrastructures. He explained that they aimed to “revitalize somewhat outdated infrastructure into a useful space for students to interact and discuss various real-world issues where they can apply their teaching practice”.
Integrative Projects now play a central and distinctive role in the academic journey of Técnico students, functioning as final degree projects with strong links to the job market, as they are engineering projects.
Paulo Moita de Macedo, Chairman of the Executive Committee of Caixa Geral de Depósitos, remarked that Técnico is a “rare example of familiarity,” emphasising that “the prestige of great schools lies in their history of seriousness and high standards”. He also announced that Caixa’s support for Técnico will increase by €100,000 this academic year, raising the total from €150,000 to €250,000.
The agreement between Caixa Geral de Depósitos and Instituto Superior Técnico includes support for STEM outreach activities in more than 220 schools, IP Talks—with four annual sessions on industrial property, the Competition to Support Extracurricular Activities of Students’ Organisations (101 prizes awarded in 10 editions, €125,000), support for IST Press publications and the Digital+ Programme for technological and digital modernisation in higher education.
Luís Ferreira, Rector of Universidade de Lisboa (ULisboa), thanked Técnico “for its leadership role at the national level and within ULisboa”, assuring that its size at the University “is not a problem, it is always a solution” and Caixa Geral de Depósitos for always supporting the University and its “ongoing support for culture at ULisboa”.