This week, around 200 secondary and vocational school students are visiting the National Scientific Computing Unit as part of the "Open Week at FCCN". Visits to the FCCN Studio, the Datacenter and the Tejo HD Immersive Room are some of the highlights.
A group of 50 students from the Magestil Vocational School were the first to take part in this initiative at the beginning of the afternoon on Monday, November 18th. On arrival, the teacher in charge, Vera Sousa, explained the purpose of this visit to the FCT's National Scientific Computing Unit, FCCN.
"We seek to open the students' vision to new things", he stressed, explaining that the various areas present in this organization "will bring new knowledge applicable to the projects they carry out in school, in a logic of transversality".
The cross-cutting nature of the students' visit to the Scientific Computing Unit. In addition to a visit to the Studio FCCN, the highlights include a visit to the Datacenter FCCN and the Tejo HD Immersive Room.
Already after visiting all these structures, the student Gonçalo Dias, 19, assesses the work done here daily as being "quite important". " I think it is important, as it is an institution that is focused on education and does not seek only profit", he highlights.
Sowing the future
Gonçalo was one of around 200 students taking part in this week's "Open Week at FCCN" - an event that aims to provide "an immersive experience in the world of FCCN".
"The goal of this initiative is to sow the seeds for the future," stresses the Director of Control, Planning and Management of this FCT unit, Salomé Branco. She explains that this is a way to make FCCN's services and projects known to future higher education students, ensuring their access and future use.
On the other hand, the director adds, this action is also part of the mission of the National Scientific Computing Unit, by "trying to attract students to the area of technologies " - an area where, she stresses, "there are fewer human resources than the market needs".
Knowledge and motivation
For one of the participants, Mariana Esteves, 18, the visit to Estúdio FCCN was "particularly interesting": "It was the first time I'd been in a studio with these characteristics and I really enjoyed the experience."
Being a student of the professional course of Communication, Marketing, Public Relations and Advertising, she also had the opportunity to get to know some of the equipment and techniques that she may apply in the future. "It's a place where I can imagine myself working in the future", she says, smiling: "I even asked if they accept internships".
It was at the Datacenter FCCN that 18-year-old participant Mariana Silva evaluated her experience. "I think it's important to know what's behind what we see every day," she said.
The visit served to guarantee new knowledge and also had a motivating effect, she concluded: "I became more motivated to finish my course - you are always motivated when you know the more practical side of things.
