On May 22, students Andrea Cassandra and Dário Ribeiro, from the Master's in Electrical Engineering of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Energy and Automation at ISEL, participated in the final phase of Accelerate Challenge 25, an initiative promoted by Siemens. This national competition took place over a period of approximately 3 months and initially included teams from 23 higher education institutions, of which 6 made it to the final phase.Under the guidance of Professors Filipe Barata and Luís Elvas, and with the support of their buddy Diogo dos Santos, our students developed an innovative sustainable electrical energy infrastructure project using Siemens tools such as SIMARIS Suite and Blueplanet PV-designer.In the final phase, all selected teams presented their projects in a 10-minute pitch to a panel of experts and industry representatives, in a highly valuable moment that promoted knowledge sharing and collaboration between academia and the business sector.Congratulations to Andrea and Dário for their brilliant performance, which was a reflection of their talent, dedication and the excellence of ISEL students, and which contributes to affirming the role of engineering in building a more digital and sustainable future.

The Polytechnic of Lisbon is one of the partner institutions of the U! Innovate project, recently approved under the Higher Education Initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT HEI). The project was presented on May 22, 2025, during the U!REKA Connects conference in Helsinki, and the Polytechnic of Lisbon delegation included the Vice-President for Pedagogy and Quality, Professor Carla Viveiros; Professor Elisabete Alegria, Advisor for Science and Projects; Professor António Serrador, Advisor for Internationalization; Professor Isabel João, Coordinator of the Master's Degree in Quality and Environmental Engineering; and Professor Nuno Datia, Coordinator of the Master's Degree in Computer and Computing Engineering.The U! Innovate has a European investment of 63 million euros in 47 new projects and aims to strengthen the innovation capacity of higher education institutions.The U! Innovate project brings together institutions from seven European countries and is led by the Metropolia University of Applied Sciences,, Finland. The consortium includes partners from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Ukraine and Portugal, with the Polytechnic of Lisbon as the national representative.With an expected duration of 25 months, the project aims to train 1,200 students and 340 teachers and researchers, directly support the creation of new startups and consolidate inter-regional incubation structures, with a direct impact on the regions involved. In the case of IPL, participation is part of the U!REKA – Urban Research and Education Knowledge Alliance, of which it is a founding member.Created in 2021, the EIT Higher Education Initiative is the only European instrument exclusively dedicated to strengthening innovation capacity in higher education. The initiative is implemented jointly by the various EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), with coordination provided by EIT RawMaterials. Since its launch, it has engaged more than 500 higher education institutions, supported 65 pan-European projects, trained more than 90,000 students and provided support to more than 1,700 startups and scale-ups, contributing to the strengthening of innovation ecosystems across Europe. Texto de MFC/GCIImagem de U!reka

The  Aegis Sat team from the ISEL-Space club attended the Bootcamp promoted by the Portuguese Space Agency, as part of CubeSat Portugal, from May 19 to 21.It was three intense days of learning, sharing and growth, where technical knowledge was deepened, with feedback from space experts and the exchange of experiences with other inspiring teams.The team brought back to ISEL a souvenir that can be seen next to the Soçicarril study room.

ISEL is a partner in the TRACI project - Comparison of phylogenetic trees and networks, funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology, in conjunction with the Innovation and Digital Transition Program - COMPETE 2030 and the Regional Programs of the North, Center, Lisbon, Alentejo and Algarve.Coordinated by Professor Cátia Vaz (DEETC/ISEL) at ISEL, this project is part of the areas of computer engineering, bioinformatics and algorithm engineering and aims to understand and compare alternative patterns of bacterial and viral evolution, or of cancer cells and tumor progression trees, which is crucial to determine and assess the origin and patterns of resistance. This project addresses the efficient comparison and evaluation of phylogenetic trees and networks, and follows an approach based on algorithm engineering, focusing on large-scale data analyses, which are challenging and common today.The project involves 3 partners, namely ISEL, the Gulbenkian Institute of Molecular Medicine (GIMM) and the Institute of Systems and Computer Engineering, Research and Development in Lisbon (INESC).

On May 9th, a study visit was carried out within the scope of the Final Project curricular unit of the Bachelor's Degree in Electronics, Telecommunications and Computer Engineering (LEETC) at ISEL.The visit took place between 2pm and 5pm, at the Altice/MEO facilities, located at Avenida Fontes Pereira de Melo, no. 40 in Lisbon, and was attended by 15 students.During the visit, students had the opportunity to see cutting-edge technological infrastructure up close, highlighting:The Fixed Network LaboratoryThe 5G LabThe 5G Base Station located on the roof of the Picoas BuildingThe initiative's main objective was to provide students with direct contact with real technological environments, allowing them to consolidate knowledge acquired throughout the course and understand its practical application in business and industrial contexts.We would like to thank Altice/MEO for their collaboration and availability in carrying out this visit, which proved to be an enriching experience for all participants.

On May 10th, Praia de Algés hosted another initiative by the Eco-Polytechnic of Lisbon, in collaboration with the Eco-School Councils of its Organic Units and the Blue Flag Association for the Environment and Education. The activity brought together members of the academic community in two remarkable actions: the Bike Ride IPL, a cycling tour between Parque das Nações and Algés, and the Clean Beach IPL, a beach cleaning action.The event was attended by dozens of members of the academic community, including students, teachers, non-teaching staff, as well as family and friends, with representation from the various schools of the Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon (IPL) , including ISEL, the School of Social Communication, the School of Education of Lisbon, the School of Health Technology of Lisbon, the Institute of Accounting and Administration of Lisbon and the School of Music of Lisbon .During the cleaning action, 7 kg of waste were collected, of which around 90% corresponded to microplastics, highlighting the importance of this type of environmental intervention.At the end of the activities, a snack was served to the participants, provided by the Social Action Services of the Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon, promoting a moment of conviviality and sharing among those involved.This was yet another action that ISEL Eco-Campus joined, with the aim of promoting sustainable mobility and raising awareness about environmental preservation.Thank you to everyone who participated!