On June 27, the 3rd edition of ElectroDay took place, promoted by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (DEEC) at Técnico. The event marked the culmination of the First Cycle Integrative Project course (PIC1), where students were challenged to use technology to solve real-world problems, taking into account industry needs, and to clearly communicate their processes and results. Throughout the afternoon, hundreds of visitors had the opportunity to explore the work developed by final-year students from the degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering (LEEC), Electronic Engineering (LEE), and Telecommunications and Informatics Engineering (LETI). This year, the event featured 32 groups, involving 186 students.

The afternoon began with the opening ceremony. The session included speeches by Nuno Horta, head of DEEC, and Teresa Vazão, coordinator of LEEC. The professors welcomed the visitors and emphasized that the event showcases the practical outcomes of the knowledge acquired by students throughout their degree. Afterwards, Rita Mota, ElectroDay’s master of ceremonies, invited visitors to explore the different projects distributed across the venue and to vote for the ones they considered to have the greatest social impact.

In addition to the science fair, where visitors were able to interact with students about their projects, the event also included the presentation of the Professor Luís Vidigal Award. This distinction is granted annually by DEEC to the alumnus who, in the jury’s opinion, demonstrates the highest scientific, innovative, and qualitative merits in their master's dissertation. The award considers work developed in the scientific areas of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The ceremony was attended by Prof. Isabel Ribeiro and Prof. Luís Silveira, both DEEC faculty members and jury members. During the session, Prof. Luís Silveira provided context for the initiative and announced the winner of this edition.

The award was given to Pedro Cerqueira Lobo, alumnus of Computer Science and Engineering. His dissertation proposes an improvement in how LLVM (one of the most widely used compiler infrastructures in programming language development) represents and handles memory data, addressing limitations that may lead to incorrect optimizations and hinder the efficient implementation of fundamental operations such as copying or comparing memory blocks.

Following this, a moment dedicated to the celebration of graduation took place, with the distribution of final-year ribbons featuring a message signed by the Head of Department and by the final-year students present.

The program continued with the awarding of prizes for Best “Communication Skills and Impact of the ElectroCap Program”, supported by Jerónimo Martins, “Best Demonstrator and Innovation of the ElectroCap Program”, supported by NOS, and the Investors’ Prize, awarded based on votes from event participants. Two donations were also made to DEEC by the companies present, aimed at improving teaching conditions within the First Cycle Integrative Project course.

The IGNIS group won the Prize for Best “Communication Skills and Impact of the ElectroCap Program”, supported by Jerónimo Martins, as well as the Investors’ Prize. Their project consisted of developing a forest monitoring system designed to provide real-time data. The project integrated a network of sensors and software using artificial intelligence to detect wildfires, including in remote areas and under conditions of low visibility, rain, and fog.

In addition to the prize, two honorable mentions were also awarded to the groups Chain Guard and Lab in a Cube. Chain Guard presented a solution for monitoring temperature and humidity inside transport boxes. This system is intended for use in food logistics and in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Meanwhile, the Lab in a Cube team developed a cube-shaped satellite integrating microcontrollers, sensors (magnetometer, gyroscope, and camera), a solar energy generation system, and a communication system to transmit data to an improvised ground station, aiming to provide students with greater exposure to this area of engineering.

In terms of project innovation, the CMS team won the “Best Demonstrator and Innovation of the ElectroCap Program” award, supported by NOS. Their project consisted of building a system for monitoring concrete structures through the real-time acquisition and analysis of concrete temperature data, in order to prevent cracks and other risks in infrastructure during construction.

As with the previous prize, two honorable mentions were also awarded to the CropAuditing and Orbis groups. The CropAuditing group focused on creating a system for agricultural monitoring. Their project includes satellite image collection and the analysis of the corresponding data using machine learning algorithms. The Orbis group, on the other hand, developed a modular system for the storage and distribution of drinking water in populated areas under scenarios of disaster, infrastructure collapse, or contamination. The project includes a 1000-liter tank and water quality monitoring systems.

Additionally, the FLARE group achieved 3rd place in the Investors’ Prize podium. Their project consisted of creating an ecosystem that combines low-cost fixed sensors with small drones for wildfire detection.

The event concluded with the closing ceremony, featuring a speech by Pedro Amaral, Vice-President for Industry Interface, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, followed by a networking moment among participants.

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