- The RetoTech programme has arrived for the first time in Portugal through the Endesa Foundation, which aims to expand its activities and promote technological entrepreneurship and STEM vocations (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) among young people in Portugal.
- The 28 schools selected in the Lisbon District will develop technological projects based on robotics and 3D which will culminate at the end of the school year in a showcase to present the projects developed and they will compete for a number of awards.
- The delivery of the robotics and programming kits took place at the Avelar Brotero Primary School in Odivelas.
On 13 March, the Avelar Brotero School in Odivelas hosted the ceremony for the delivery of the robotics kits corresponding to the first edition in Portugal of the Endesa Foundation Retotech Project. The Avelar Brotero Primary School, in Odivelas, is one of the participating schools in this edition of the RetoTech Project.
Previously, the 28 participating schools had already received kits equipped with technological materials to work on their projects. The teachers in each selected school will also receive educational training focussing on the programme's two blocks: Robotics and 3D printing.
The ceremony for the delivery of the robotics kits at the Avelar Brotero Basic School was attended by various professionals and personalities from the educational and business sectors. The event was attended by Dr João Mourato, representing the General Directorate of Schools; Dr Paulo Gonçalves, Manager of the Adelaida Cabette School Group, representing the Avelar Brotero Primary School; representatives of the Odivelas Municipality, as well as representatives of Endesa in Portugal, including the General Manager for Endesa in Portugal, Guillermo Soler, Sonsoles Fernández, Manager of Institutional Relations, and Olga Marto, Head of Sustainability at Endesa.
RetoTech aims to promote technological entrepreneurship and the study of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers in schools. In addition to providing robotics kits and technological materials, the programme includes in-person training for teachers and challenges students to develop projects that address real needs of society, using robotics, programming and 3D printing.
The initiative has arrived in Portugal following the success of its nine editions in Spain, where this year more than 4,600 teachers and more than 69,600 students have benefitted. The first edition in Portugal of the Endesa Foundation's RetoTech initiative represents an important milestone in the promotion of technological development and STEM education, training students for the challenges of the future.
With the support of the BQ Educación consultancy, the RetoTech programme challenges schools in Spain and, for the first time in Portugal, to create a project focussing on resolving a real need, for example, an automated recycling system for their classrooms or a device that facilitates the mobility of disabled students in their school. All the projects submitted need to include robotics, 3D programming and printing and an integrated APP.
Prizes
The Endesa Foundation will award a total of 3 prizes, which will be awarded to the best technological initiatives in this first edition, during an in-person event to be held at the end of the 2023-2024 school year.
This consists of an "Endesa Foundation Award", chosen by a jury of the Endesa Foundation, and two "Teachers Awards", chosen by the teachers present at the festival. The assessment will be based on originality and creativity as well as applicability to a real need and its justification, the technical skill and the aesthetic and artistic dimension of the work undertaken.
This event at the end of the school year will represent the culmination of a journey of learning and innovation for the 28 Portuguese schools participating in this first edition of RetoTech in Portugal.
About the Endesa Foundation
The Endesa Foundation was founded in 1998 as an expression of Endesa's social commitment to respond to the needs of the community where it undertakes its activities, thus contributing to the development of society.
On a daily basis, it works to enhance its social footprint through projects to promote high-quality education that meets today's challenges, to ensure that the most vulnerable have a future with opportunities, to promote culture and art in Spain and to create a more sustainable world by caring for the environment that surrounds us.
More information at: www.fundacionendesa.org