On Tuesday morning (June 23), SMARTNESS hosted the “Young Inventors” workshop during the VIII Eyes on the Future Journey, bringing together 12 students aged 11 to 13 for an immersive experience in science, technology, and innovation.
The activity was designed to introduce young participants to the world of scientific research through hands-on challenges. Rather than simply observing demonstrations, students took on the role of inventors and were invited to solve a fictional problem using real technologies developed and explored within SMARTNESS laboratories.
The workshop began with a theatrical presentation that immediately captured the students’ attention. A fictional interplanetary emergency revealed that the inhabitants of planet PA-99-N2, located in the Andromeda Galaxy, had lost their main candy factory after a solar storm damaged its equipment. The students’ mission was to develop solutions to help the civilization restore food production and distribution.
To accomplish this challenge, participants rotated through three technology stations. In the first, they explored applications of 5G and 6G networks as well as satellite communications. In the second, they experienced virtual reality technologies for remote monitoring and operation. In the third, they interacted with robotics demonstrations, including robotic arms and 3D capture technologies.
After completing the stations, the students worked in teams to design their own rescue plans, combining connectivity, virtual reality, and robotics. Their proposals were then presented to the researchers and evaluated based on creativity and the practical application of the concepts learned throughout the workshop.
According to researchers Arthur Simas and Roberta Steganha, the workshop was inspired by educational approaches that emphasize experimentation, autonomy, and student protagonism. “We wanted to show that science goes far beyond theory. When young people have the opportunity to experiment, create, and test ideas, they realize that they can also become protagonists of innovation and contributors to real-world solutions,” the researchers highlighted.
In addition to introducing cutting-edge technologies, the activity encouraged skills such as creativity, teamwork, critical thinking, and problem-solving. At the end of the workshop, the students received a symbolic reward for successfully completing their mission, bringing a morning of learning, discovery, and imagination to a close.
The workshop was organized with the participation of researchers and students Arthur Simas, Alan Teixeira, Eduardo Sartori, Roberta Steganha, Luisa Freire, Mateus Faleiro, Gabriel Simão, Thomas Gomes, and Verônica Mendes, and was part of the VIII Eyes on the Future Journey, an initiative dedicated to strengthening connections between science, universities, and the broader community.
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