Nuno Charneca is a biophysics engineer with a PhD in geographical engineering and geoinformatics, he is a post-doctoral researcher at the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC), the Chief Executive Officer of InovLabs – Technologies for Education, and a visiting professor at both the University of Coimbra and the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon.
How did the idea of creating InovLabs come up?
The idea was born out of a desire to provide the educational community of Oeiras with tools and methodologies that would assist in better preparing our primary and secondary school students for the academic and professional challenges they will face in the future. During a career dedicated to research in engineering, at the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC), I realized that I would like to contribute to improving the preparation of our students in matters of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
What are the project’s main goals?
The main objective was to help improve a set of skills in our students. To do this, we chose a number of technologies, such as: programming; electronics; robotics and 3D modeling, from which we prepared, in a multidisciplinary way, an already extensive range of activities which we adapted to the concepts covered in the different school years’ official curricula. This is how we witnessed many projects emerge, such as the electric solar cars, the inclined planes with laser doors to study uniformly accelerated motion or the smart solar oven that works day and night, among many others.
Alongside these technologies, we set out to clearly define a skillset which we suggest working on in a project-based learning strategy (learning by doing). This way, the students and teachers we support work with us, either in the classroom or in science clubs and other themed spaces, to carry out scientific and technical oriented projects. We try to train our students by exercising skills such as: Creativity, Self-regulation, Communication, Creative Thinking and Problem Solving.
Science Communication and the Arts were not forgotten either, so we integrated these communication and graphic production skills into the team, which our students were able to put to good use. That’s why, in recent years, the project has started to support graphic production for scientific posters, presentations and the graphic identity of educational projects.
What feedback do you get in schools, from teachers and students?
In schools, the feeling we get is that students love learning in a practical way as well as clearly understanding how the concepts they study in the different subjects apply. We get a sense that teachers heavily rely on us to be able to design and implement this project-based learning strategy and to provide their students with the possibility of accessing specific technical equipment and of taking part in science and technology exhibitions as well as competitions with educational purposes. These are unique opportunities for students to explain their projects and be inspired by others that their classmates have developed. These are also personal growth experiences which we try to make sure they reach as many students as possible, because we know they make them grow as active and responsible citizens.
What contribution do you hope InovLabs will give to society and the future of young people?
We make an effort for our contribution to be truly multifaceted. Students are our main focus, and we are constantly looking to innovate and improve their learning experience. On the other hand, the contribution to teachers means trying to support and inspire them with inventive projects, to train them technically so that they progressively gain more autonomy to manage their projects.
We have also participated in Citizen Science initiatives and tried to inspire other territories with the good examples we have had the privilege of implementing in Oeiras.
With the research and development projects we promote, we are constantly trying to improve the technical and scientific competence of the team. For this mission we also rely on a group of partners with whom we share knowledge and technology, thus promoting mutual growth.
What is your opinion on the investment the Municipality of Oeiras has made in Science, Innovation and Technology?
The investment the Municipality of Oeiras has put into Science, Innovation and Technology has been absolutely crucial to raising the level of learning and increasing the quantity and quality of the experiences, as well as boosting the promotion of knowledge, to which our schools have access. This investment has a huge impact on the daily life of our community and we feel that we are fulfilling our mission as teachers, mentors and inspirers of science and technology-based careers leaning towards innovation. I believe this investment is the result of a clear political vision of the path we need to take in order to train our students as well as possible and for them to have the greatest possible impact on society. Day after day, it is this type of politics that contributes to a society of knowledge, better equipped to face future challenges, and with the ability to be happier, healthier and safer. Although we recognize that there is always room for improvement, we work every day to have the best tools at our disposal in order to build societies with opportunities for everyone, without exception, so that everyone’s dreams and ambitions may come true.
