Aveiro:
A community
prepared for
the future

The program's objectives to cross STEAM areas and promoting cooperation and dialogue between participants with numerous valences and interests, alone would be enough to be an initiative that would have my full support. I begin by highlighting the quality of programme’s organisation and its artistic mentorships - Cadie Desbiens-Desmeules and Michael Dean – who knew how to create an excellent environment in the interaction with the others, presenting their projects inside without secrets, and sharing useful tools perfectly aligned with the premise of the residence. The tutoring team, incorporated by designers and engineers, responsible for monitoring the work carried out, the installations and equipment of the Creative Science Park with its technical staff, provided all the conditions to give the resident all the responsibility to leave the experience with more baggage than the one you entered. I also noticed that the selection of residents was very varied in terms of interests, profiles and objectives, which allowed us to start intense and consequent conversations about the activities developed there and outside.

The first interactions in the program, based on the previous description, were experienced with great enthusiasm. There was a good environment between the group and a great exchange of ideas. I think that my experience was particularly happy  in finding interests and objectives very much in line with the (generic) realization with other colleagues right at the beginning of the residency. This 'accident' allowed us very quickly - and with some learning passed on by the mentors - to start exploring and identifying the artistic and technological project we wanted to develop, already following prototyping developments in parallel with the conceptual support, all of this shared and accompanied with / by mentors / tutors. After the 'COVID' interruption, we resumed work with a new plan that was too condensed, although understandable given the constraints and doubts. Due to the fact that my colleagues and I are already relatively safe in our conceptual base, we were able with very little time to test an entire technical apparatus with micro-controllers, sensors, subwoofers, and others, and even feel a sample of the experience we wanted achieve with the project.

This programme allowed me to expand my knowledge and see new artistic projects, deepen technical skills in prototyping and learn new tools, such as, TouchDesigner software. In fact, I ended up using it in two works that I developed with my Suspicious Collective during the pandemic opening window in summer 2020: Compasso Incerto at Lisboa Soa, and Prana at Criatech.

The UBBU platform allows students to gradually acquire knowledge about information and communication technologies and learn basic programming concepts, while developing various skills in terms of writing, mathematics, expressions through properly planned and interdisciplinary classes.

Classes are planned in such a way that students discover that computers are not just for playing. They discover that they can create their games, projects and challenges.

Students feel very motivated with the use of this platform in the classroom, in such a way that they are the ones who enthusiastically remember: "today is UBBU day!". In the context of Distance Learning, they continue to hold their classes. I have available daily synchronous sessions to help students that had more difficulties in a specific session and I provide some images of solutions for the proposed exercises. I always have one or another student present in these classes, but they are already quite autonomous and are carrying out the exercises alone or with the assistance of family members.