A XI Edition of the GRACE Academy, part of the Uni.Network project, distinguished the most innovative academic projects aligned with the principles of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability.
This year's edition was attended by 359 students, 100 projects in the competition e 12 supervising teachersfrom 7 academic institutionsIPAM Lisboa, EGAS Moniz School of Health and Science, Instituto Politécnico de Santarém, Instituto Politécnico de Portalegre, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, ISCAL and Universidade de Aveiro.
Among the finalists was a group of students from IPAM Lisbon with the project "Sign Language Translator with Artificial Intelligence"which won the Academia Grace award for its social applicability and technological integration geared towards the common good.
Under the motto " Artificial Intelligence as a contribution to sustainability", the initiative challenged students to come up with value propositions that promote continuous training and the positive impact of AI on meeting corporate sustainability objectives.
Another group of students, from IPAM Lisbon, won the Action Award, with the project of "Professional Erasmus - PROMOVE", under the competition theme "Upskilling & Reskilling".
The award-winning project GRACE Academy was developed by the students Bárbara Santos, Lorenna Rossi, Lutchila Mateus, Maria Duarte and Tomás Coutofrom the Master's Degree in Marketing Management. The proposal, which aims to facilitate communication with deaf people through automatic sign language translation, stood out for its originality, practical applicability and impact on the community. This award, in partnership with Coompass, includes specialized mentoring in the areas of technological, product and business development in the implementation of the project.
The project awarded the Action Award was prepared by the students Diogo Duarte Joana Massi, Mário Rosário and Sérgio TeixeiraThe aim is to create a Reskilling and Inter-company Mobility Program within the GRACE network. This initiative aims to strengthen organizations' ability to respond to market changes by promoting the retraining of skills and the sharing of knowledge between companies, through the temporary functional mobility of their employees. This award is sponsored by Missão Continente, offering students tickets to the QSP Summit.
The Idea and Impact Awards were also presented. O Idea Awardwas carried out by the students Daniel Ramos, Filipe Sousa and Sérgio FernandesThe IES-SBS-sponsored contest, which was held at the Polytechnic Institute of Porto and developed the theme Chat with AI for Whatsapp, offers its winners free participation in the IES-SBS Impact Bootcamp. O Impact Awardwas developed by the students Ângela Borba, Daniela Pinto, Daniela Guerra and Vanda Velez from the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, on the topic of Green AI: Artificial Intelligence Platform for Sustainable Transformation in Portuguese SMEs. This award was sponsored by Auchan Retail Portugal, which is offering a visit to the headquarters of Auchan Retail Portugal, as well as a meeting on social responsibility.
Broad participation and an excellent jury
The jury was made up of representatives from companies and public institutions, including:
Ângela Noiva, Deputy Director of DGES
Afonso Borga, Social Responsibility Manager at Auchan Retail Portugal
Ana Daniela Pereira, Social Engagement & Communication Specialist at MC Sonae
Francisco Lourenço, Co-Founder & CMO of Coompass
Pedro Amaral Frazão, Director & CSO of the Sousa Group and Vice-President of GRACE
Pedro Lisbon, Co-Founder & CEO of Compass
