OBJECTIVES SUCCESSFULLY ACHIEVED IN BOOTCAP WHICH HAD THE PARTICIPATION OF 120 STUDENTS.

Last week, from the 19th to the 23rd of February, the 1st BiomaterialsKIT Bootcamp was held with the participation of 120 students from the Bemposta School Group and the Poeta António Aleixo School Group.

This Bootcamp took place within the scope of the European Town Twinning project led by the Municipality of Portimão and whose partners are the Municipality of Bayrakli- IZMIR in Turkey, ISMAT and the University of IZMIR. Throughout the week, with a methodological focus on involving students in a process of co-participation and co-design, we seek to identify how practical and pedagogical experiences can be developed to implement project challenges oriented towards Biodesign and Biomaterials for the Secondary education level.

Taking place in the heart of Portimão, in a space adjacent to the Museum, the space was equipped by the Municipality in a way that allowed students to enjoy the interior with work benches prepared for Collaboration and Facilitation of processes and group dynamics, as well as well as the outer space itself, where several initiatives of interaction and construction of “group spirit” took place. In a total of 15 working groups made up of 8 students representing both groups, ISMAT teachers and researchers challenged students to develop a design process throughout the week, with different focuses and in an evolutionary way.

The first focus sought understanding and understanding about: current consumption habits, sustainability, Biomaterials and nature. After consolidating these bases, it was possible to develop with the students a vision of how BiomaterialKit could be used in their classrooms, namely: through the co-creation of learning scenarios; resources to support project challenges aimed at experimenting with Biomaterials – recipe manuals, learning guides, multimedia resources; Co-creation of equipment – Mobile_Lab to support these projects and experiments in the Classroom that will be built and implemented in each of the Schools participating in the Project.

The participation of these young people is fundamental, as is the incorporation of these subjects in schools, highlighted Mr. Vice-President Álvaro Bila, during his visit to the Bootcamp and which also allowed the entire team to demonstrate the work carried out and examples of the added value of these initiatives that connect several functional institutions bring to the Municipality, such as: applied knowledge, transfer of knowledge between University and Schools, between teachers and students. We also emphasize that these objectives can only be achieved by promoting a deep connection between research in the context of higher education and educational agents in the territory, with the municipality having the role of promoting, in this way, a change in behavior, as is the objective of the BiomaterialsKIT project.

We cannot fail to thank the tireless work of the teachers from the two groups Bemposta and Poeta António Aleixo, for their continuous contribution every day and for the level of involvement and training of the students, which is nothing more than the result of all the work that they develop with students daily at school.

The ISMAT communication design teaching/research group leaves with a lot of information and many creative ideas from this Bootcamp with the students, which will allow us to materialize the Manuals, the MobileLab and the Learning Scenarios that appear in the BiomaterialKit results, and so successfully support this partnership with the Municipality of Portimão.”