Given the current context in which students of higher education live, Hélder Puga, professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, considered that the time had come to create a “disciplinary laboratory that brings together the study of the classroom with the collaboration of the Industrial partner, in a perspective of reciprocal valorization”.
This was the basis of the challenge launched by the professor to four companies in the district of Braga and to the students of the Specialization in Advanced Manufacturing in the Curricular Units of the Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering: Foundry Project and Machining and Numerical Control.
The presentation of the developed projects was held on June 22 and 23 at the companies associated with the challenge: FAB – Fundição de Alumínio de Braga Lda, Firmago – Fundição de Alumínio, S.A., MCT – Metalúrgica Central da Trofa, Lda, and AMG Unipessoal, Lda – Maquinagem de Precisão. With this initiative, the teacher intended to “implement a curriculum of research/development/application and experimentation in the area of Advanced Manufacturing, through the creation of “disciplinary laboratory” based on the interconnection of the University with the industrial fabric of the region. And emphasizes “the acquired knowledge is not understood without reference to the theoretical bases that the student will establish throughout their training, and this should be strengthened with the introduction of a new player “the Industry”.
The approach implemented brought together the players University, Teacher, Student and Industry, in the teaching process, with clear benefits for all involved, breaking the traditional classroom barrier, allowing an interactive and collaborative articulation between all participants”.
The companies involved share the same opinion and left their testimonials regarding this collaboration.
Presentation of the Project at FAB – Fundição de Alumínio de Braga Lda
Presentation of the Project at Firmago – Fundição de Alumínios, S.A.
It was with pleasure that Firmago – Fundição de Alumínios, S.A. accepted the challenge proposed by Professor Hélder Puga to work for a semester with Carolina, Damião, Francisco, Helena, Sara and Sílvia, students of Mechanical Engineering – Master in Advanced Manufacturing from the University of Minho, in a Foundry and Machining project. The results achieved, based on a disruptive vision, demonstrate not only the potential of integrating students in the industrial fabric but also the functionality of University-Company partnerships. This cooperation and sharing between Universities and Companies fosters a bidirectional and transformative value creation, with long-term gains in knowledge, human capital, profitability, competitiveness and technology.
Doctor Tânia Azevedo
Technical Director of Firmago, S.A
Presentation of the Project at MCT – Metalúrgica Central da Trofa, Lda
Companies are the natural partners of universities, in terms of the knowledge they produce and the staff they train. Only with symbiotic relationships between the real world and academic reality – as bidirectional bridges, effective and concrete – is that true innovation happens and makes sense. And behind it comes development, for companies as well as for society.
Engineer Rui Veloso
CEO
Presentation of the Project in AMG Unipessoal, Lda – Precision Machining
The challenge proposed by Professor Hélder Puga brought advantages not only for the students involved but also for the company AMG. For the students because it allowed them to work on a real problem, for the company because it was approached and developed a subject of their interest in a more detailed way, in an appropriate time frame, something that is often not possible indoors due to the industrial rhythm.
Engineer Miguel Vieira
AMG Company Collaborator
Educate to transform what we know and not to transmit what is known.
