This movement brings together more than 5000 people, including engineers, scientists, designers, marketers and health professionals, and more than 250 companies that share a purpose: Reunite Portuguese talent in the development of technological solutions that help the population to overcome the Covid-19 challenges.

JP.IK, for the essence of its Mission and the uncertainty that abruptly transformed our lives just over two months ago from the spread of Covid-19, decided to join the altruistic Cause of the Movement # tech4COVID19 and donated 500 computers PUPIL 104.

By supporting this Cause through the donation of devices especially designed for children, JP.IK contributes actively to reduce the problem of inequality in access to education aggravated by the suspension of face-to-face classes due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The mission of Student Keep is to create an online platform through which it is possible to

• Identify the students without access to a computer and/ or Internet
• Fund raising and making available technological devices to meet these needs

Furthermore, through the support raised, Student Keep works with the purpose of:

• Increase the governmental capacity to respond to this problem
• Ensure a faster and more efficient response
• Promote social awareness about issue
• Promote citizen involvement

By supporting this very noble Cause in times of pandemic, JP.IK joins other Portugueses Companies and Organizations, including EDP, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Primavera, Fundação GALP, CELFOCUS and DECO PROTESTE.

An agency of innovation in technology and pedagogy at the service of the education system

The Ceibal Center was created in 2007 as a plan for inclusion and equal opportunities in order to support Uruguayan education policies with technology. Since its creation, each student entering the Uruguayan public education system has access to a computer for personal use and has a free Internet connection from the educational center.

Twelve years after the Plan started, there is no access gap to the devices. More than 720,000 students and teachers have their computer and internet in the classroom, the urban educational centers have fiber optic and videoconferencing systems and, by using technology in platforms, mathematics, English, robotics and reading have been enhanced, among others. The Ceibal Center has become an innovation agency in technology and pedagogy at the service of the education system. During the first years, Ceibalâ€s focus was on accessibility with the delivery of devices to students and teachers, as well as the Internet connection of educational centers and logistics to keep the system running. Once this is covered, the aim is to complement the delivery of equipment with professional teaching development and the incorporation of technological-educational programs.

Democratization in access to technological devices must necessarily be accompanied by a democratization in access to knowledge.

Technology can take on two different roles, which must be addressed with different approaches. A role of technology is to facilitate actions that are impossible without it. This role allows us to solve problems in the “old way”, which without technology we could not solve. As an example of this, we can mention, regarding Ceibal, the country library and the teaching of English via videoconference.

In Uruguay, the only way for all students to access study and reading books is through digital formats. Therefore, the Digital Library was created, allowing access to teachers and students to all the specific contents of textbooks needed to study, as well as recreational books.

In 2015, it was incorporated the possibility for retirees to access this library and specific materials were made available. Finally, we set out to create a digital library with access for any Uruguayan resident and in December 2018, it launched with the first 4,000 resources available. In this first year, the Library is constantly growing in the number of books and subscribers.

Another example of the impact of technology on ways of teaching and learning is the Ceibal

program in English. This arises to respond to the lack of English teachers in Uruguay, to teach the language in all primary education, especially in cities further away from the capital. We developed a network of videoconferences to provide classes in all public centers so that students can learn remotely with teachers from different parts of the world. Thus, we managed to go from 30,000 children who received English classes to more than 110,000 throughout the country.

Another important role of technologies is to become accelerators of new pedagogies.

Therefore, the Ceibal Center focuses on the approach of new pedagogies for Deep Learning through student-centered methodologies.

Together with the National Public Education Administration (ANEP), Ceibal joined a set of countries that make up the Global Learning Network; where work is promoted by projects linked to the environment, the center of learning is in the students and teachers and directors are the key actors of this transformation. In most cases, these projects are linked to technology.

Together with the countries of the NETWORK, we understand that the technological changes that have occurred in recent years have defined a completely different world, which requires students to handle certain basic skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, collaborative work and communication, the development of character, creativity and being a good citizen. We are working towards this.

However, these technological changes, coupled with social changes, call on teachers, more than ever, to accept the challenge of having young people interested in school. Therefore, we must think of different pedagogical proposals, so that they remain in the center as much time as possible and that this place becomes fundamental for the support and training of children and young people.

For this complex task, we know that we must raise the teaching role, the value given to them in society, but we must also set our sights on a horizon for all.

Collaborative networking, between centers and teachers, is the best way to make sustainable changes. For this to take place, it is essential to have spaces for teachers to share, to innovate the curriculum and the educational proposals. If we want young innovators, we must have innovative teachers. Innovation comes from the environments where children are formed. In addition to working with students, collaboration must happen between teachers and between schools. Exchanging ideas generates a virtuous circle in which, based on collaboration, more and better ideas are generated.

Miguel Brechner is an Electronics Engineer from Kings College London and holds a Master in Telecommunications from Imperial College London. Brechner introduced several product lines and developed multiple system integrations for more than 30 years. In 2005, he left his executive positions in the private area and redirected his efforts on innovation and technology issues to the public sector.
He was President of the Technological Laboratory of Uruguay (LATU) between 2005 and 2010 and integrated its board of directors between 2010 and 2018. He founded the National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII) and a member of its board between 2007 and 2013.
In 2006, he proposed to President Tabaré Vázquez the initiative of one computer per child for all Uruguayan public education and has been President of the Ceibal Plan since its beginning.
In 2016, Edtechx distinguished him among the list of the 50 most innovative people in education and technology (Makers and Shakers 2016). In addition, he serves as a consultant on ICT issues worldwide and is a speaker on the Ceibal Plan and education worldwide.

The opportunity to participate in jp.ik Projects was immediately received with great expectation and the certainty – which came true – that these would be experiences of enormous growth, as well as personal and professional learning. From the two times I visited Mozambique, the projects aimed to raise awareness and training of students and teachers regarding the use of technological resources in an education context, aiming to promote, on one hand, the empowerment of teachers in designing new teaching experiences through technological resources and, on the other hand, assisting students in developing of digital skills and understanding how transformative and very distinctive they can be compared to what we experience with the more traditional teaching modalities.

The journey began with the planning of the training moments and activities, anticipating the relevance of truly knowing and understanding social contexts, their needs, their history of inequalities and opportunities, and also our own ability to generate questioning, learning and commitment with all the parties engaged, providing an inclusive, current and innovative response.

Mozambique was, nevertheless, an unknown context, in which the realities were in sharp contrast and the desire for experimentation and realization on the part of those who received us was very visible. Therefore, even at an early stage, it was vital to enable an environment of trust and sharing by adapting and readjusting what appeared to be appropriate for their academic, professional and social contexts.

Often experience has shown me that the crucial factors for the effectiveness of work performed in contexts so different from those we are used to and in which we foresee some challenges, which are the validation and enhancement of the competences, knowledge and pedagogical methodologies already implemented (notably by teachers) and by together reshaping activities aligned with learning content and goals, as these processes increase the identification and levels of motivation of all involved.

It worked in a similar way with students, as using technological resources they could glimpse those that may be tools for improving their teaching and learning conditions and, consequently, the implications for their lives, at individual, social and professional level.

The integration of technological resources in an educational context also assumes as added value the personalization of teacher-student engagement, the adaptations of the teaching-learning pathways for each student and the facilitation of the evaluation processes, enabling an active participation, producer of experiences and builder of their own knowledge.

Therefore, their use should be adjusted to the requirements of innovation and technological development, creating challenges of adaptation to the formative and context-specific needs. It is this path that assists making technology tools more credible, seeing them as facilitators of a process rather than an end in itself.

This transformation in educational contexts, however, should always be accompanied by a concern to involve the education system and community in its updating and reorganization to new conception of Education and new practices that progressively respond to the new challenges encountered, not only at the educational level. academic development, but also at the students†personal and vocational level.

As a psychologist, I have been working with young people and I am interested about their own pathways; vocational and professional. This whole process is done through a more relational, humanized and contextual approach to educational practices, enhancing a more harmonious and articulated development with interests, competences and potentialities of each one; focusing on the closer relational proximity to each student and the infusion of the exploration of transversal skills (creativity, teamwork, problem solving, etc.) and to the job market into the curriculum content of students, building a meaningful vocational project and let each one realize their role in this process.

Regardless of the social, economic and labor differences that may exist between distinct countries and continents, it seems safe to say that digital and technological competences do play a key role in the labor market and in the jobs of the future. Knowing how to integrate this reality in our daily routines and for everyone across the board, thus becomes an important key in opening doors to a fairer, more balanced and more opportunity-rich society. This has become more real to me, especially watching the little ones, the dreams that accompany them and the sparkle in their eyes when they realize that, with the right tools, they can do and achieve things they never thought they could.

I ended up understanding, then, that in these training contexts I was in, Education is also understood as an indispensable tool for the exploration, experimentation and approximation of realities that would otherwise be very difficult to reach and reconcile for the development of citizens and professionals who in the future want to improve their lives, those around them and, therefore, their country and ultimely the world.

Feeling this huge desire to evolve and transform in the people I had the opportunity to be with, and seeing the full potential for this to happen, was one of the richest and most remarkable professional experiences I have had the privilege of living to this day.

Mafalda Vasconcelos is a Psychologist. She holds a Master in Clinical and Health Psychology from the University of Porto and a Postgraduate in Evaluation and Intervention in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology.
Her professional career has focused on working with children, youth and adults in areas as diverse as Clinic; Vocational Guidance and Career Development at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences; Consultancy in the area of Education, Training in Psychology-related topics and, more recently, in the management of the SAGAZ project, a Preventive Mentoring and Volunteering Program at ALENTO.

We believe Education has the power to transform peopleâ€s lives and foster the sustainable development of whole Nations! Well-educated people are usually more active citizens and qualified workers, more capable to explore and create effective opportunities to improve their own lives, to contribute actively to their communities, and to promote the development of their countries.

Investing in education means believing in its power to transform our World. Transforming an entire education system involves a solid investment and a good planning.

Good quality infrastructures are vital for a quality-learning environment, because they promote a better instruction, higher student outcomes and the decrease of the dropout rates, among others.
A recent study from the University of Salford and the University of Huddersfield of United Kingdom shows environmental and design elements of a school infrastructure explained 16 percent of variation in primary students academic progress. It also shows the design of education infrastructure affects learning through three interconnected factors: naturalness, stimulation and individualization.

It is crucial to assure the investment in good, comfortable and safe school infrastructures. In this context, the need of building school infrastructures in some regions is still a reality.
Moreover, in some regions schools still lack spaces designed for the 21st century learning environment, such as ICT Labs and flexible instructional spaces designed to engage learners in an immersive learning experience leveraged by technology.

Thereby, jp.ik has developed an infrastructure solution known as Popup School, which is an integrated solution with a simple and fast implementation process and thought as a facilitator of the development of the learning community and the surrounding one.
Developing the Popup School aimed to respond the need of a resistant and modular infrastructure with a fast and easy installation, prompting the implementation of ICT Labs, which spark experimentation and discovery powered by the integration of meaningful technology for a more fulfilling learning experience.
Our Popup School was developed with the students as the central beneficiaries, combining an optimal infrastructure designed to spark the development of the 21st century skills, such as collaborative work, critical thinking and creativity with meaningful technology for education.

Combining infrastructure and technology aims motivating learners to achieve the best academic performance. jp.ik believes an integrated and quality learning environment enriches a more immersive learning experience.

Therefore, through Popup School, we hand over a resistant and quality infrastructure designed for an innovative learning experience, offering a fast and complete infrastructure to an immersive education ecosystem.
In 2018, jp.ik’s has improved the Popup School key features, including some technical improvements to increase students and teachers levels of usability and operation.
These improvements focused on five main specialty areas: occupational safety and health, capacity, environment friendly and comfort.

In a nutshell, the small big improvements developed for our Popup School are: reduced technical rail; all screws concealed; wall finishing plates removed; metal structure embedded in the wall; sandwich panel anti-theft system; floor without screws; logistics improved; easier assemble; reduced maintenance needs; and overall structure resistance was improved.

Over the last ten years now, jp.ik leads a pioneer initiative for ICT-based education projects. Our expertise and knowledge are the tangible outcomes from the large-scale education projects we have been implementing worldwide and that makes us the suitable partner to create, integrate and boost the integration of technology in education.
At the core of our large-scale education projects lays the meaningful integration of technology in the learning experience by assisting young students in achieving the best academic performance and being prepared to succeed in an unknown job market in constant transformation and, consequently, to jobs that do not yet exist.
In addition, teachers are very relevant in the successful implementation of our large-scale education projects. These education projects are designed and implemented in order to assist our children in developing the so-called 21^st century skills, such as collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, digital literacy and communication; just to name a few.
However, teachers are ambassadors of these large-scale ICT-based education projects because they are the ones who mentor a successful integration of technology in the learning experience, creating more interactive and engaging classes and a more hands-on learning methodology.

With the big picture in mind, we designed and developed an integrated approach, known as Inspiring Knowledge Ecosystem (ike) that embraces three key pillars of a technology-based education project – Engineering, Pedagogy and Technology.
Through the educational ecosystem, jp.ik goes beyond the delivery of technology, assuring the knowledge transfer as a key success factor for the long-term sustainable development of communities.

What do we actually mean by an Inspiring Knowledge Ecosystem (ike)?
The Inspiring Knowledge Ecosystem (ikE) showcases our tailored offer for Education. Engineering, Pedagogy and Technology work intertwined to create, integrate and spread the best practices in the use of ICT in Education, striving to fulfil each project unique requirements and needs from the early conception to its conclusion.
Therefore, the Inspiring Knowledge Ecosystem (ike) is a fundamental element of a long-term impacting education project.

We believe our Industrial Solutions foster Education and communities†development
Multiple fields of action combined in a holistic approach to projects aim to create an industrial technological cluster. Therefore, our final goal is to settle the steppingstone towards an initiative that creates job opportunities and brings social development and a sustainable economic growth to a community and, consequently, to an entire country.
Our specialized team with a long experience is capable to implement a wide variety of industrial projects, ranging from the adaptation of an assembly line to full industrial units and after sales centers, providing several professional services that can be adapted according to the education project needs.
Through our projects, we aim to cover the full cycle, reaching all the industrial processes, civil
Engineering, technical training and manufacturing work. In the context of after sales services, wecan provide assessment for repair centers†implementation, allowing our partner to reach the end of the cycle and assuring a long-term approach in response to the market†s needs.
Therefore, our long-term approach aspires to empower a local working force, promoting ownership and skills†development in an Educational and ICT market context.Investing in the capacitation of people means investing in a sustainable development of a country
A higher skilled workforce leads to increase economic growth, so if a nation improves the skills of its population, it can expect to grow faster.
Our portfolio of solutions has a strong focus on Education, knowledge transfer and continuous support,aiming to capacitate people to be a productive element of a nationâ€s workforce.
Fostering the capacitation of people will definitely lead to the sustainability of the project, generating a cycle of development and growth that can transform the reality of a region in the years to come.

The learning experience elevated to an all-new level through the integration of ICT
Through technology, teachers have the opportunity to engage students in an amazing learning experience.
Through technology, students have the opportunity to build their own knowledge at their own pace, transforming the learning experience into a more rewarding and interactive experience.
jp.ik develops technology for the classroom, including devices, educational software, infrastructures, network, security and product development, such as custom-built images to enrich user experience and quality assurance for integrated solutions.
Integrating technology in education goes beyond delivering hardware, including educational software especially designed – ikES – Inspiring Knowledge Educational Software.
ikES allows teachers to manage effectively their classroom and gives the students the opportunity to learn by observing, experimenting, exploring and assessing. Finally, ikES has protection tools to enhance the security of the students†devices.In sum, jp.ikâ€s designs and develops innovative technological solutions especially for education. The fact is Education plays a pivotal role to advance societies, foster inclusion and support national economic development initiatives, as digital knowledge becomes a key tool in the skillset of the workforces of the future, regardless of industry or function.

In the year jp.ik and Intel celebrate ten years of a close collaboration in the context of education reference designs and expertise by working with school systems worldwide, the two companies joined forces to implement a Proof-of-Concept in two schools in Senegal.
In addition, Microsoft, a solid and close jp.ikâ€s partner with shared beliefs, also supported this initiative by offering two general introduction-training days.

jp.ik and Intel understand the challenges teachers face towards the growing demands of students prompted by the global digital revolution. This new reality we live in shows education is at a decisive turning point, bringing to the surface the challenges resulting from a growing labor skills gap. In this scenario, the opportunities brought by technology point to a single path: transforming education for the next generations.

Both companies believe successful ICT-based educational projects go beyond the technology itself, empowering educators to boost student engagement, retention and the development of real-world career-ready skills.

This common statement joined jp.ik and Intel in the implementation of a Proof-of-Concept in two Senegalese schools, Primary School Matar Seck in Rufisque and CEM Ouakam 2, located in two less-privileged neighbourhoods of Dakar area.

This cooperation aims to raise awareness of how ICT in education aligned with a comprehensive teacher training can leverage the learning experience towards an inclusive and quality education.

The purpose of this initiative is to assist teachers in the effective integration of technology in the day-to-day teaching to prepare students to develop skills, such as cognitive flexibility, decision-making, creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving, increasingly requested by a job market in a frenetic mutation revolutionized by technology.

The local beneficiary schools chosen by the Minister of National Education, HE Serigne Mbaye THIAM face the typical challenges public schools in Western Africa are being challenged with, as CE2 classes of the primary school and the 6ème of the secondary school, the main targeted grades, count over 70 pupils per class. For the Primary School the POC is a first initiative where the kids have direct access to computers, whereas the CEM Ouakam 2 was already beneficiary of an initiative that equipped a room with server and thin clients where general ICT classes were performed. In both schools, this is the first initiative of integrated learning with digital devices and the pedagogical training about the use of the devices throughout the schooldays was very much appreciated.

This initiative was undertaken following the visit of a delegation of the Ministry of National Education to Portugal in the end of 2016. The Ministry of National Education did show innovative approaches to integrate ICT in education and since then has followed a few workshops given by Intel.

This Proof-of-Concept, based on jp.ikâ€s 21st Century Classroom solution has been implemented in several countries around the world, is a three-part approach, comprehending a technological solution and a pedagogical and engineering solution.

Technologically speaking, the solution covers a broad group of devices developed for the classroom experience: Student devices, Teacher device, Content Access Point, Interactive Board and projector.

In terms of Pedagogy, this Proof-of-Concept provides a solid solution to assure an efficient level of Training to assist teachers to assure the adequate use of the technological equipments and to explore them at their full potential. For that, jp.ik teams of Pedagogy and Engineering, who run the workshops and the technical support, respectively, assure this training.

The project kicked off early August with two days of general introduction training that were genuinely offered by Microsoft. The second step was the implementation and testing of the technological solution undertaken by a jp.ik team in both schools last week of September. Later on, in the first week of October four days of pedagogical teacher training took place in CEM Ouakam 2 School, gathering school heads and teachers from the two schools, as well as different representatives from technical and pedagogical departments of the Ministry of National Education.

Summing up, this Proof-of-Concept reflects how jp.ik engages with partners in different regions, aiming to extend the reach of these types of initiatives to private and public decision makers.