On April 29th, the signing of four Ward Analytics Scholarship contracts took place in the main hall of the Alameda campus. These scholarships are funded by the company founded by Luís Parra, a former undergraduate student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Técnico.

Luís Parra founded the company during his third year of studies. During the event, he highlighted that he faced "the same difficulties" as the students he is now supporting. "I came from Vila Real de Santo António, and I received a few scholarships that helped keep me afloat." He reminded current undergraduate students that "progress takes time, but you also don’t know how much time you have."

The importance of such initiatives to Técnico was emphasized by Técnico’s president, Rogério Colaço, who noted that nearly “1,000 students need support to continue their studies,” and within that group, there is “a segment of students not covered by social support services.” On a positive note, he pointed out that “these initiatives have been gaining momentum” because they are part of “a positive feedback process.”

In addition to the scholarship recipients—Frederico Castro (Electrical and Computer Engineering), Duarte Pereira (Aerospace Engineering), Martim Vicente (Computer Science and Engineering), and Vicente Rasteiro (Applied Mathematics and Computation)—the event was also attended by Nuno Horta, Head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Paulo Correia, coordinator of the Electrical and Computer Engineering degree, João Melo de Sousa, coordinator of the Aerospace Engineering degree, Daniel Gonçalves, Vice President for Education of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, António Leitão, coordinator of the Computer Science and Engineering degree, Lina Oliveira, coordinator of the Applied Mathematics and Computation degree, and Gonçalo Oliveira, Vice President for Society Engagement of the Department of Mathematics.

News and photos: Técnico

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