After months of mentoring in artificial intelligence, business model, design thinking, marketing, financial analysis and pitch, students from the Agrupamento de Escolas de Sever do Vouga and the Escola Profissional de Aveiro, Sever do Vouga Unit, presented their projects today at the Pitch Final of the 10th edition of Lanca o Teu Futuro, at the Centro das Artes e do Espetaculo in Sever do Vouga.

The event opened with a motivational session by Jose Rocha, from Igneeters, who is young but already has a long track record in entrepreneurship and innovation, setting the right tone for what followed.

The projects were assessed by a distinguished jury composed of José Vale, Head of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at IAPMEI, Gabriela Fernandes, Vice-Rector of the University of Coimbra, Eva Andrade, from the University of Aveiro, Sofia Guerra, from A. Silva Matos, Ana Moutas, from Psientifica, and Bruno Figueiredo, from Graphenest. Experienced professionals who evaluated the projects with rigour and whose recognition can open real doors for the participants.

The winning projects:

Vision Safe Interlock

Escola Profissional de Aveiro, Sever do Vouga Unit

Catarina Cierco, Delcio Zacarias and Saltanat Tileubay

Prize: 200 euros + representation of the municipality at the intermunicipal competition of the Aveiro Region

A system that prevents a machine from being activated without the protective goggles in place. A solution with direct impact on industrial safety. The team is winning for the second consecutive year, with different projects each time.

Power Pass

Escola Profissional de Aveiro, Sever do Vouga Unit

Alexandre Nascimento, Ian Richards and Rodrigo Henriques

Prize: 200 euros + specialist mentoring from Jose Rocha (Igneeters) to scale the project

An automated cable-pulling reel for electrical installations in buildings, allowing the work to be carried out by a single operator.

Lavando

Agrupamento de Escolas de Sever do Vouga

Adriana Costa, Lurdes Amorim and Joana Almeida

Prize: 200 euros + 500 euros from Eduardo Martins to support the development of the idea

A perfume with calming properties, produced with natural ingredients from the region, that promotes relaxation without the need to ingest chemical compounds

Recognition for the teachers

Teachers Ana Cardoso, from the Agrupamento de Escolas de Sever do Vouga, and Ana Fernandes, from the EPA, each received 100 euros and a symbolic recognition from the Municipality for their technological development work and dedicated support of their teams throughout the entire process. They are an essential part of the results achieved today.

"Ten years on, what I am most proud of is not the prizes or the projects - it is seeing what happens to young people during the process. That transformation is what I always wanted to drive, and it is what will continue to change this territory."  Andreia Fonseca, Project Manager VougaPark