Multidisciplinary projects developed at institution made it to top 5
The event Moving the Cities 2021 attracted several undergraduate students from PUCRS. The aim of the immersion project was to promote the development of solutions through international and intercultural cooperation involving science, entrepreneurship, innovation, technology and society.
The students were induced to develop empathy in order to solve regional problems cities are facing. At the end, they were challenged to generate prototypes of these solutions. In its 4th edition, this year’s event students from different PUCRS programs joined in. These programs include Production Engineering, Architecture and Urban Planning and Computer Science.
The way School of Technology professor, Dr. Patrícia Flores Magnago, sees it, this is such an important event. “International experiences and networking like this are important both for students’ careers and for PUCRS’ Academic Schools that learn a lot from the exchange of knowledge”, she comments.
Architecture and Urbanism student Stela Nunes Paiva ranked 2nd with the project Selfhelp INC.. That is an interactive activity book used to reduce stress and disquiet. It has pages to be colored, writing sections, tips on how to maintain a balanced mental health and specific podcasts. “That was quite an enriching experience, especially because I came into contact with people from very diverse cultures. I hope other colleagues take the risk like I did”, she adds.
Production Engineering student Jordana Machado Mangeon made it to the 3rd spot with the project ByLocal, which will connect conscious consumers with local farmers. In the 4th spot, student André Pereira Trois presented the project EnviroMe, seeking to establish global connections for a greener world. Lucas Petry Cavalheiro made it to the semi-finals with his group with the project Climate Smart App (CSApp), an app for sharing sustainable actions and information about climate and natural disasters.
Computer Science student Natália Dal Pizzol presented the project titled My Mind Tracker, a software program designed for the provision of personalized health care to their patients. From the Architecture and Urbanism program, student Marina Schmitt Fração created PlastiCycle, a plastic recycling program integrated to an app.
For Dr. Patrícia Flores Magnago, as important as the gains from these incremental or radical innovations, are participants’ soft skills gains, such as: verbal communication in other languages, leadership, systemic and strategic vision, adaptability, initiative and entrepreneurial spirit.
The project Moving the Cities an initiative by Unisinos in partnership with UAS7 and FH-Münster occurs every year. Because of the Alliance of Innovation, a partnership between UFRGS, PUCRS and UNISINOS, PUCRS’ students had the chance to join in. The efforts of the three universities aims to maximize high-impact actions to advance innovation and development.
Moving the Cities was sponsored by DWIH São Paulo and was brought to the community by the School of Technology of Unisinos, FH Münster, UAS7, Tecnosinos, SAP, INACAP, School of Engineering of UFRGS, School of Technology of PUCRS, Tecnopuc, Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH), Universidad Pontifícia Bolivariana, Coventry University and University of Pittsburgh.
