Laura Fernandes is a student in the Bachelor's Degree in Aerospace Engineering and a member of the Electronics and Software Department of Técnico’s Formula Student team (FST Lisboa). In an interview with DEEC, she spoke about her journey, from choosing her degree to the present day.

Técnico was her first choice. She enrolled in the Bachelor's Degree in Aerospace Engineering (LEAer) highly motivated, influenced by the perspective of some friends of her older sister regarding the different programmes. In her first year, she joined JUNITEC, where she was responsible for both project development and management.

Even in high school I was already very proactive; I liked signing up for projects (…). I enjoy challenges.

Laura Fernandes, LEAer student and member of FST Lisboa

Within this organisation, she was involved in several initiatives, including the development of a learning platform for children aimed at teaching programming through block-based coding. The main challenge was creating a system capable of self-generating, making it possible to produce new learning levels by adjusting certain variables in the code. Later, as a project manager, she was responsible for team management and for meetings with the client in a project that involved updating an AGEAS database.

However, through this experience, she realised that she preferred project development over consulting.

I prefer getting my hands dirty rather than just managing.

Laura Fernandes, LEAer student and member of FST Lisboa

On the other hand, her interest in electronics grew throughout her degree, influenced by courses in the field. “I find the whole process of analog signal conditioning and analog-to-digital conversion बेहद interesting (…) it’s at the core of everything; it connects software and hardware,” she highlights.

In her second year, she decided to apply to FST Lisboa, also motivated by her interest in motorsports. During the recruitment process, she was challenged with several tasks related to electronics, software, general safety concepts, and vehicle dynamics, which were evaluated by the team. “I really enjoyed the recruitment process. We were lucky to have very strong support and, in the second semester, we were still recruits but were already integrated into the team,” she says.

We started working on projects that would be used internally and, since we were integrated early, we quickly got in contact with the car, which greatly helps with this year’s work as a member.

Laura Fernandes, LEAer student and member of FST Lisboa

In the Electronics and Software Department, students are responsible for circuit and PCB design, embedded systems code, microcontroller programming, and the development of the interface that integrates the communication protocols used in the car. Laura Fernandes contributed to the development of a circuit used to simulate the RES (Remote Emergency System)—the system that manually triggers the car’s emergency stop during autonomous driving. After developing the hardware, she also worked on programming the system, integrating the required communication protocols.

Laura Fernandes highlights that being part of FST Lisboa provides students with “a very realistic view of what it means to be an engineer,” fostering interaction between the different areas required for project development, from technical details to logistical aspects.

I can understand much more clearly how teams function, how projects are managed, and the challenges involved… meaning that if I finished my degree and entered the job market right away, I feel I would adapt much more easily.

Laura Fernandes, LEAer student and member of FST Lisboa

Beyond being a learning space where a common goal is shared, the workshop also fosters strong friendships: “It’s no longer just the FST group—there are real friendships. We spend many hours in the workshop; sometimes it may seem a bit excessive, but in my opinion, it’s worth it,” she notes.

Laura Fernandes emphasises that, although the team is mostly composed of men, she has never felt uncomfortable as a woman. She only became aware of the numerical gender imbalance during recruitment evaluations: “I was the only girl in the room,” she recalls. However, she stresses that gender is not an issue within the team. “I’ve never felt any different treatment or disregard for being a woman. We truly treat each other equally. (…) I think that nowadays no one rules out engineering because of gender,” she says.

I see this fact [of there being fewer women in engineering] naturally, because we are all working towards the same goal, and with a sense of responsibility, because if more girls want to come and take these roles, we want to pave the way to make things easier.

Laura Fernandes, LEAer student and member of FST Lisboa

The student describes her experience at Técnico as “demanding and enriching,” representing an opportunity for both personal and professional growth: “It was an adventure. Figuring out what I would enjoy, what grades I would get… The reality is that I was used to certain grades in high school that didn’t match my results at university. I think that was one of my first shocks.” In addition to acquiring hard skills, entering higher education also meant adapting to the beginning of adult life as a displaced student, including managing household tasks with her sister and travelling home to Madeira. “I feel that I have developed in every way and that I am a much more capable person,” she says.

In the future, Laura Fernandes hopes to work in electronics, more specifically in embedded systems. She highlights the significant room for hardware evolution needed to keep pace with software development, particularly in terms of system efficiency optimisation and the integration of artificial intelligence technologies.

[If I could speak to my younger self, I would say] “you have no idea what’s coming!”

Laura Fernandes, LEAer student and member of FST Lisboa