On 7 February, the Técnico Innovation Center hosted the 1st Portuguese telecommunications hackathon. Throughout the day, dozens of undergraduate students were challenged to develop innovative solutions with an impact on various sectors, including agriculture, environment, defence, sports, smart cities, education, industry, information, fisheries, health, and transport and logistics, in an informal setting. The event originated from an initiative led by Professor Luís Correia, lecturer at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and researcher at INESC INOV-Lab, in partnership with Nokia, MEO, NOS, Vodafone and Huawei, and was the result of work developed over the past three years. The hackathon was supported by and attended by the aforementioned companies and by the Electrical and Computer Engineering Students’ Association (NEEC).

The morning began with a brief opening session, featuring interventions by Sérgio Pequito, Vice-President for Research, Development and External Relations of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Pedro Amaral, Vice-President for Business Interface, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Luís Correia, who was responsible for organising the event.

Pedro Amaral began by emphasising the importance of telecommunications and of electrical and computer engineers in today’s society. He also thanked the supporting companies, highlighting the strong link between Técnico and industry demonstrated by the organisation of the event.

Luís Correia thanked the students and companies for their presence and gave a brief presentation of the challenge. He addressed the stages of the competition and the evaluation criteria, highlighting the importance of quality, feasibility, innovation, and the social and economic impact of the proposals. He also introduced the mentors and jury members, which included DEEC faculty members and company representatives. The case studies were then drawn, with each team representative taking the stage to learn about their assigned case.

The morning was dedicated to reflecting on existing social challenges and to defining and submitting solution proposals. Throughout the work, students were supported by António Topa, Paulo Correia, Mário Silveirinha and António Rodrigues, DEEC faculty members and researchers in the field of telecommunications, as well as by several members of NEEC.

After the submission of proposals, the stage welcomed representatives from the companies, who once again highlighted the role of telecommunications today, ranging from simple message transmission to issues related to network operation and protection against cyberattacks, responses to emergency scenarios, and quantum communications. The speakers also reflected on technology accessibility, the importance of gender equality in the sector, and the role of students in innovation. They further emphasised the value of such initiatives, not only for the acquisition of practical knowledge by students but also for strengthening the link between industry and academia.

During the afternoon, students presented the implementation proposals for the previously defined solutions, as well as their market strategies.

Following the jury’s deliberation, the five finalists were announced: the teams 4 Bars Strong, Base 10, Circunshow, Synclab and Tremoço, which presented their projects. The first team focused on creating a communication model between soldiers using drones in war scenarios. Next, Base 10 took the stage and presented a proposal for land monitoring, also using drones, aiming to contribute to resource optimisation while considering the needs of different agricultural areas. The Circunshow team proposed the development of an electronic device capable of real-time speech translation to minimise communication barriers between teachers and immigrant students.

Meanwhile, Synclab focused on land monitoring through drones equipped with sensors for parameters such as temperature and gas concentration, enabling alerts for potential wildfires. Lastly, the Tremoço team proposed the creation of a fleet management system for delivery drones, with the aim of optimising the traffic of these vehicles.

After the presentations, a networking moment took place between companies and participants, aiming to create a space for sharing experiences and interests.

The afternoon concluded with the awards ceremony. The winning team was Tremoço, which received the €5,000 prize, followed by Synclab in second place, which received €3,500. Base 10 achieved third place on the podium, winning €2,000. The teams 4 Bars Strong and Circunshow were also awarded two honourable mentions of €500.

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