Universidade do Algarve opens its doors to future students in another Open Day (with photos)

Nearly two thousand Secondary and Basic Education students from all over the Algarve were this Thursday, the 18th, at the University of Algarve for the Open Day 2016/2017. Many were those who participated in the various activities that the courses had to offer. And isWhilst there are students who are still undecided about their future, others have it all planned out.

Patrícia, from the Secondary School Dr. Laura Ayres, in Quarteira, was one of the students who woke up early, on this cold Thursday morning, to visit with her class, the University of Algarve's Penha Campus.

It's 10 o'clock. At the School of Education and Communication (ESEC), there is already an atmosphere of some excitement, with the corridors “crowded” with students heading for the various sessions, specially prepared for the occasion.

«More than two thousand visitors are planned here at the University, in this project coordinated by the University's Communication Office, with the organic units», he revealed to Sul Informação André Botellheiro, coordinator of the UAlg Communication Office.

Patrícia is interested in communication and wants to learn more about the Design and Communication Sciences course, while her colleagues prefer to visit the various sports activities that the sports office promotes, such as American football and volleyball.

The Design course session has already started and Professor António Lacerda coordinates a workshop of calligraphy. The activity, according to the professor, goes through, «in the first phase, doing a more technical work when developing the lyrics, starting from a more artisanal basis. Then start exploring materials, paints, brushes and canes, freely».

António Lacerda also reminds visitors that Design students «usually participate in the “Algarve Design Meeting”», the most important meeting on this theme that takes place in the region and is scheduled for the Antiga Fábrica da Cerveja, in Faro, between the 21st and 28th of May.

Marta Silva, secondary school student Tomás Cabreira, from Faro, was participating in the calligraphy workshop. The young woman is attending the 11th year of schooling and believes that the University of the Algarve is an option, despite not knowing which course to choose.

In the room next door, the preparation of a newscast, broadcast via streaming and carried out by students in the 2nd year of the Communication Sciences course. The pivots prepare, the cameras position themselves and, with the public's collaboration, the “First Plan” goes live. The 20th anniversary of the course is being celebrated and, therefore, the reports are about academic organizations such as Rádio Universitária do Algarve (RUA), the Center for Research in Arts and Communication (CIAC), the Academic Association (AAUAlg) and the university residences.

At the time of farewell, when the newscast ends, visitors experience the various stages of production in making the news. Zusi and Daniela are two Master's in Psychology interns at the SPO (Psychology Office) Portimão, who accompany the students of the Informatics and Multimedia courses on this journey of discovery. «We brought them to discover the university and the space. As they are more connected to technologies, we are also going to visit the Animated Image course. But so far we are enjoying it immensely», they stress.

Also in the field of sport, 9th grade students participate in a climbing on the wall of one of the pedagogical complexes on the Campus, in partnership with the Algarve Mountaineering and Climbing Association (AMEA), with professional Greg Fantasia. "It's the first time in two years that I'm here to make fun of the kids."

In this same complex, the Visual Arts course is preparing to receive another class, now the João de Deus Secondary School, from Faro. Alexandre Barata, artist and professor of the course, explains to the students that there are three studios, one for each year. "They are open from 8 am to midnight". In the studio that those interested visit, you can see paintings and drawings on two-dimensional supports, made by 1st year students, as well as sculptures, made in the previous semester.

At another school, at the Instituto Superior em Engenharia (ISE), Jorge Isidoro, deputy director, presents to the students of EB2,3 in Paderne, the various courses that the school offers. Paulo Felisberto then leads the students to the laboratories, to make known some of the projects they are developing.

During the visit to the Mechanical Engineering laboratory, the course director Carlos Nunes explains the different types of offer. «There are so-called “TESPS” - Specialist Technical Courses in Professional Higher Education, in which, for half a year, students have classes and then an internship. Then we have Automotive Engineering and Renewable Energies», he adds. The initiatives for this day are divided into “Aerodynamics in Aeronautics and the Automotive Industry”, “Computer Aided Manufacturing” and “Computer Aided Design”. «What we essentially want is to show the laboratories», he concludes.

At the School of Management, Hospitality and Tourism (ESGHT), on the other side of the Campus, the Tourism course also promotes its activities, now on the street, through various “stands” with themes related to the primary sector, industry and transport. Sani and Sara are two 1st year students of the course who participate in the initiative. In declarations to the Sul Informação, they say that the construction of the bank «was until the last minute», but love Lóleo they were not lacking. "There are many interested in joining the course, which makes us very happy," they add.

At ESGHT, the Open Day is not just to promote the courses. Regional and national companies take advantage of this initiative to publicize their activity. Thus, Talentar, Seahorse, Nau Hotéis & Resort and Hubel, as well as Tertúlia Algarvia, were present.

The latter, which has its own restaurant in Praça Afonso III, in Vila-Adentro de Faro, intends to promote and make known to students, the Mediterranean Diet, through the preparation of food in a showcooking typically algarvian. The octopus cataplana with sweet potatoes and salicornia is almost ready and “no one can resist it”, comments Frederico Lopes, chef at Tertúlia Algarvia.

The Open Day 2016/2017, in addition to a “flood” of students, also had “numerous new activities that, in a light and quick way, made known, throughout the day, the offers of the different courses”, concluded André Botelheiro.