18-09-2024
From 14 to 18 October 2024, four students from NOVA FCT will participate in a pilot course as part of the Erasmus+ BIO-FIBRE project.
The students from the Integrated Master's in Civil Engineering - Construction profile, Tomás Costa, Alexandre Duarte, Rafael David Ferreira, and Gonçalo Filipe Cação, will attend Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), where they will characterise mortars with bio-fibres. This course will be followed by another one from 10 to 14 March 2025 at the Technical University of Eindhoven (TU/e), where the students will carry out 3D printing with the optimised mortar. The courses will be complemented by online sessions focusing on other aspects related to the environmental and technological importance that different bio-composites can have in building construction, using a blended-learning approach.
The Erasmus+ BIO-FIBRE project, coordinated by VIA University College, Denmark, aims to contribute to better pedagogy and skills development in the area of bio-composites for construction, including their development, characterisation, optimisation, and application. A curriculum unit will be developed, which will be made available online and can be used in its entirety or in modules. NOVA FCT is part of the consortium developing these new training programmes, with a team led by Paulina Faria, a professor from NOVA FCT's Department of Civil Engineering, which includes other faculty members from the Civil Engineering and Chemistry departments. Other partners include TU/e (Netherlands), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain), AUTH (Greece), Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna (Italy), Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (Lithuania), and Study and Consulting Center (Lithuania).
Upon completion of the project, NOVA FCT plans to integrate modules from the new curriculum unit into existing subjects such as Building Materials, Construction Technologies, and Coating Technology, as well as into postgraduate courses in Sustainable Construction and Rehabilitation.
