Instituto Superior Técnico

The Contigo+ program is an initiative of the Pedagogical Council to provide and accelerate the enhancement of teachers’ teaching skills in the contemporary world. The program aligns with the best motivational practices of fit with the institutional mission, vision and aspiration, practiced in leading schools and also in the corporate world.

• Inaugural session (17.11.2022) – Program and Recorded Webinar
• Pedagogical management of PIC CUs (31.01.2023) – Program
• Pedagogical Practices and Measures of Success +200 (14.02.2023)
• PIP 2018-2023 (17.04.2023)
• The importance of feedback in the teaching-learning process (20.06.2023)
• AI tools in teaching, learning and assessment (09.01.2024)
• International Day of Women and Girls in Science (14.02.2024)

 

The goal is to provide teachers participating in the With You+ program with a reflection on the interpersonal Teacher-Student relationship adapted to today’s reality and on valuing diversity, crucial pillars for the development of the University and the promotion of its culture. The Program also aims to innovate teaching tools and strategies to deal with the new challenges in the contexts of Higher Education in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Architecture.

Today’s technological, social and communication scenarios are transforming the role of the teacher more into a source of knowledge and inspiration than a source of information, turning learning into a time of personal exploration. They are also demanding a new balance between depth and breadth of what is transmitted (e.g. see http://www.cdio.org/files/CDIO_Syllabus_Report.pdf).

This situation leads to the need to change traditional teaching practices, very much captured and dominated by the teacher as the central character in the classroom. The international trend is for classes to become more of a collaborative space, where the teacher guides and directs teams, differentiating himself from the students by his greater experience.  Thus, educational teaching programs are increasingly based on the phases that define the life cycle of a product – Concept-Design-Implementation-Operation (CDIO model, see for example http://www.cdio.org/about). This transformation is setting new standards for robustness of outcome, key success indicators, and feedback procedures to ensure continuous improvement.

The Contigo+ Program consists of Trainings targeted at Teachers to:Identify and exchange practices to support Teachers in this change. These trainings consist of:

• Lectures for exposure to international examples;
• Use of digital tools to guide students’ individual or team work;
• Familiarization with “Feedback and Feedforward” practices, presential or through digital tools, that support project-based learning

The Contigo+ Training Sessions will be organized

• in the form of regular Scientific-Pedagogical Workshops, at least once a semester
• in the form of MOOCs for online attendance;
• or still included in events such as Department Days or similar that, upon proposal of their organizers, are approved by the President of Técnico, the Scientific Council and the Pedagogical Council, as “Contigo+” trainings similarly to the “Distinguished Lecture”.

Finally, the Contigo+ program is one of the four components of an integrated program for Teaching Quality at Técnico, which already includes three other components:

Pedagogical Innovation Projects (already underway since 2018);
Interactive Data Analytics and Visualization Program, namely for decision support (started with tools for the Analysis of the Intensity and Distribution of student effort across semesters and for the Analysis of Academic Efficiency and Quality of Course Unit Data);
Program for increasing Student Success in the Fundamental Sciences (Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology) using online and recorded classes, which is being initiated by the Mathematics Department.

 

November 17th, 4pm – Congress Center IST | Webinar
Inaugural Session of the Contigo+ Program
Webinar recording available on Youtube

 

16h – Opening by IST President Professor Rogério Colaçoe Presentation of the Contigo+ Program by the President of the Pedagogical Council Professor Teresa Peña

16h10 – 16h45 Professor Francesc Torres (Rector Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – 2017-2021)
Some reflections on STEM Higher Education – presentation

16h45 – 17h Discussion

17h -17h20 Professor Ramon Bragos (Expert on Engineering Education, School of Telecommunications Engineering , Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya)
Ten years of experience of Project-Based and Challenge-Based courses in ICT Engineering at UPC according to the CDIO standards

17.20-17.30 Discussion

17h30-18h Conclusions with Audience Participation

18h Closing

 

2nd Session of the Contigo+ Programme: “Pedagogical management of Integrating Project CUs and CUs for +200”.
December 13, 15h30 | Meeting Room of Civil Engineering Pavilion (2nd floor)

 

15h30 – 16h45 Round table “Integrative Projects Operation”, moderated by Professor Carlos Santos Silva

16h45 – Coffee break

17.00-17.30 Lecture “UC basic training, 1st year, 200+ students, MEPP: challenges, successes, failures”, Professor Luís Lemos Alves ( DF)

17h30-17h45 – Discussion

The session allows to exchange experiences and methods between various Departments and courses. Your participation is important!

 

3rd Session of the Contigo+ Program: “Pedagogical Practices and Measures for Success in +200”.
February 14, 2023, 16:30 | Civil Engineering Pavilion Meeting Room (2nd floor, room 4.41)

 

16H30 Opening – Teresa Peña, President of the Pedagogical Council
16H35 Math Learning Center @ Texas A&M ”  – Professor Paulo Lima Filho (Texas A&M)
17H10 Coffee break
17H20 “Mathematics Teaching Support Program at IST ” – Professor Pedro Ferreira dos Santos (DM/IST)
17H40 “UC basic training, 1st year, 200+ students, MEPP: challenges, successes, failures”, Professor Luís Lemos Alves (DF/IST) – Presentation
18H00 Conclusions

4th Session of the Contigo+ Program: “PIP 2018-2023”.
April 17, 2023, 3pm | IST Congress Center

 

15h00 – “The PIP program 2018-2023”, Miguel Cacho Teixeira

15h10-16h – Examples of completed PIP projects
Nuno Roma (DEEC), “LightBoard Studio”
Daniel Simões Lopes (DEI), “Técnico Reality Lab”
Ana Moura Santos (DM), “Jornada Heróica em Machine Learning”
Dulce Simão (DEQ), “Touch on Chemistry”
Gustavo Paneiro (DER), “LabVRMin – Laboratório de Realidade Virtual para a exploração de recursos naturais”
Pedro Vítor (DEEC) – “Trabalhos de Laboratório Modulares por Rede IoT”
Hugo Plácido (DBE), “ScientIST”
Alexandre Bernardino (DEEC), “Labs@Home”

16h00 – 16h30 – Examples of ongoing PIP projects
Synergistic projects:
Miguel Mira da Silva (DEI), “Flipped Learning – Implementar flipped learning em disciplinas de vários departamentos”
João Fernandes (DEEC), “VIENA – Eletromobilidade Autónoma made by VIENA: um ambiente interdepartamental para ensino e investigação em sistemas eletro-mecatrónicos”
Pedro Mendes (DEQ), “Eng Química 2.0”
Exploratory Projects:
Leonilde Moreira (DBE), “Aprender Genética Questionando e Investigando”

16h30 – 17h00 Discussion open to all participants.

This session allows us to exchange experiences of innovation in teaching, disseminate the advances and infrastructures available, and inspire potential proponents of PIP 2023 projects.

• Assessment and Feedback, UCD
• Wisniewski B, Zierer K and Hattie J (2020) The Power of Feedback Revisited: A Meta-Analysis of Educational Feedback Research. Front. Psychol. 10:3087. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03087 [document]
• Hatti J, Timperley H (2007) The Power of Feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81-112. doi: 10.3102/003465430298487 [document]
• Pereira D, Flores M.A, Simão A.M, Barros A (2016) Effectiveness and relevance of feedback in Higher Education: A study of undergraduate students. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 49, 7-14. doi: 10.1016/j.stueduc.2016.03.004. [document]
• Nicol D, Macfarlane-Dick D (2006) Formative assessment and self- regulated learning: a model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), 199-218. doi: 10.1080/03075070600572090. [document]

 

 

February 11th is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, as declared by the United Nations. This date is an occasion to reflect on important questions. At Técnico, areas as Informatics/Computer Science and Engineering or Mechanical Engineering, are examples of the ones that least attract female students. How to expand female participation in science and technology? How to reaffirm the critical role of women in these areas for technological and social development? In the past and at present, in Portugal and abroad, how do women influence and perceive Science?

The program includes two reputed keynote speakers, Professors Petra Rudolf* and Anália Torres**, who are well recognized internationally.

Program:

10:00 AM – Petra Rudolf (University of Groningen), Women in Science: a historical perspective
10:45 AM – Anália Torres (ISCSP), Gender equality in Science and Higher Education: reflections from experience and fieldwork
11:30 AM – Coffee break
11:45 AM – Panel Discussion: Professor Beatriz Silva, Professor Luís Oliveira e Silva and the Junior Prize Winner of the Maria de Lurdes Pintassilgo Award, Engineer Catarina Botelho
12:30 PM – Closing

*Petra Rudolf was born in Munich, Germany. She studied Physics at the La Sapienza University of Rome, where she specialized in Solid State Physics. She worked at the National Surface Science laboratory TASC INFM in Trieste, at Bell Labs in the USA, and at the University of Namur, before taking up the Chair in Experimental Solid State Physics at the University in Groningen in 2003.  Her principal research interests lie in the areas of condensed matter physics and surface science. Prof. Rudolf has guided 34 MSc and 33 PhD students to the successful defence of their theses and supervised 24 postdoctoral research fellows. Professor Rudolf served as the President of the European Physical Society in 2019/21 and of the Belgian Physical Society in 2000/01. She was elected member of the Academia Europaea, the German Academy of Science and Engineering, and foreign corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna; she was also elected honorary member of the Italian Physical Society, Fellow of the Institute of Physics, Lid van verdienste of the Dutch Physical Society and Fellow of the American Physical Society. For her work on molecular motors she received the 2007 Descartes Prize of the European Commission. In 2013 she was appointed Officer in the Order of Orange Nassau by H.M. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

**Anália Torres holds a Ph.D. in Sociology and is a full professor of Sociology at ISCSP, the Higher Institute of Social and Political Sciences of the University of Lisbon. She is the founder and coordinator of CIEG, the Interdisciplinary Center for Gender Studies at ISCSP, recognized as a center of excellence by FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology). She served as the President of the European Sociological Association (ESA) and was a member of the evaluation panel for “Institutions, Values, Beliefs, and Behaviour” at the European Research Council. Currently, she leads the CIEG team in the Ge-HEI project – Gender Equality in Higher Education Institutions. Anália Torres has coordinated several research teams nationally and internationally, focusing on themes such as family, gender, marriage, divorce, work and family, poverty, substance abuse, youth, and the protection of children and young people. Her work on marriage and divorce contributed to the amendment of divorce laws, adapting them to the Portuguese reality. Professor Anália Torres was honored with the Scientific Merit Medal in 2023. The Scientific Merit Medals, awarded by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Higher Education (MCTES), aim to “acknowledge national or foreign individuals who, due to their high professional qualities and fulfillment of duty, have distinguished themselves through valuable and exceptional contributions to the development of science or scientific culture in Portugal.”