“This is an activity that we have been doing since 2011 with a very good acceptance by the secondary schools. The objective is to carry out a coordinated work with the secondary education teaching staff that seeks to join efforts for teaching quality in the fields of computer Science, Technology, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics and motivating students towards experimental work, Engineering and Data Science”, said Paula Marzal, director of ETSE-UV.

“Robotics could be a subject to be developed in class by students. In fact, Technology and Robotics are the future”, said a student from the IES Jaume II el Just of Tavernes de la Valldigna, who emphasised that the teacher “has shown us all the previous knowledge that we should have before doing some Robotics achievement. You have to do a lot of work and have a lot of knowledge”. José Carlos, a student from the IES Laurona of Llíria, participating in the essential oils workshop, stated that it was an “interesting and enriching practice”, which has made us really interested and, in some way it has brought us a little more to the world of Chemical EngineeringChemistry”. Miguel, also from Llíria, regarding the gel-making workshop emphasises that the activity has shown properties of viscosity, and how it is achieved.

Throughout the week, students have spent a day with the teaching staff of the Technical School of Engineering doing a practical activity in the laboratories of the centre. “The experience is very rewarding for us, we have received this year more than 4,000 petitions, and we hope we can meet all of them in the next editions”, remarked Marzal.

The workshops have taken place from January 14 to 18 and demand has tripled the offer of available places. Thus, students have participated in computer and multimedia workshops, industrial and telecommunications electronics, and chemical technology and industrial processes, and data science. In the computer and multimedia fields, the workshops have dealt with web portals management, video game development, augmented reality as well as introduction to the programming of mobile devices with app inventor.

Regarding the industrial and telecommunications electronics workshops, students have been able to practice robotics with Lego Mindstorms, the generation of digital audio effects in real time, instrumentation and measurement with various sensors, telephony and IP voice, or have known the basics of renewable energies. In the workshops of chemical technology and industrial processes, students will manufacture a bath gel or will work separation operations of the industry obtaining essential oils. In the field of Data Science, with the activities data, intelligence, health, industry, business… a winning combination and STAR WARS and the Data Empire, students got to know how the information behind these data is deciphered and used. En el campo de la ciencia de datos, con las actividades dato, inteligencia, salud, industria, negocio…un cóctel ganador y STAT WARS y el Imperio de los datos, los y las estudiantes han conocido cómo se descifra y aprovecha la información tras estos datos.

As for companion teachers who have attended the courses developed at the ETSE, Elena Martínez, professor of Information Technology at the IES Comarcal de Burjassot, stressed that students had the opportunity to visit and get to know the ETSE-UV and the different degrees of the centre, and do the workshops of web portals management and augmented reality. “Our students have developed educational activities that have encouraged their computer and technological vocation. They have also had the opportunity to establish a first contact with students and professors at the University”, she said.

Josep, an IES professor at Laurona de Llíria, considers that “the most important factor is to come to the University and that students know the environment. That they touch the University, which is what comes next for them, and that they see all the availability of material that is here”, he said. A teacher from the IES Jaume II el Just of Tavernes de la Valldigna who had already participated in the activity insisted that this type of workshop “is very interesting for these students, because they are really motivated. It’s what they like and workshops are very much aimed at what they want to do. I think that more activities of this type should be done, honestly”.

Lucía Vera, ETSE teacher who has taught the augmented reality workshop, has stated that teaching the ETSE secondary workshops “is always a very enriching experience, since we discovered the concerns of these students, their connection with technology and we see how their perception changes over what was shown in the workshop”.