Free educational program TUMO starts in Coimbra from September

In September, the former postal, telegraph and telephone (CTT) building in Coimbra will house Portugal’s first digital and creative technology center TUMO, a free educational program open to all, said Shaken’s founder.

“In this magnificent building, the first TUMO center in Portugal will open in September, where we will have 1,500 students developing a portfolio of projects in the fields of their choice, among topics such as 3D modeling, animation, game development, programming, music, design. graphics, cinema and robotics. We believe this center will help prepare the next generation for a future that will be very challenging,” Pedro Santa Clara, founder of Shaken, said this Wednesday.

At the ceremony, which took place at the future sites where TUMO will operate, Pedro Santa Clara emphasized that this project, born in Armenia in 2011, is spreading all over the world.

“It’s been tested, it’s working, it’s already been attended by about 60,000 students, and it really makes a difference. Firstly, because it is free, because of the patrons who believe in the project and want to support it, and also because it is a voluntary program. “, he added.

In his opinion, one of the advantages of TUMO is that students can study at their own pace in the subjects that interest them the most.

“We have a truly innovative learning model that combines self-learning conducted on a digital platform with observer guidance, with ‘workshops’ led by global experts in various fields that need to be developed. The pedagogical model itself leads us to the development of personal skills. autonomy, collaboration, creativity, and the ability to solve specific problems,” he described.

At TUMO Coimbra, young people aged 12 to 18 will be “learning to learn” and registration will begin in the second quarter of this year.

The investment, which will amount to seven million euros over the next four years, is being promoted by a group of companies linked to Coimbra and national foundations with the aim of promoting the development of the next generation: Altice Portugal, BPI/Fundação ‘la Caixa. ‘, Critical Software, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Santander Foundation, Licor Beirão, Oxy Capital, Paulo Marques and Pedro Bizarro (founders of Feedzai) and Coimbra City Council.

At the ceremony, the mayor of Coimbra, José Manuel Silva, hailed the “alignment of the stars” for the installation of this “unmissable project” in the student city.

“This is a transformative project for our youth, it will be a big challenge for our secondary and university education, a new form of learning and non-formal self-learning and hetero-learning. It is also a transformative project for our education, for a building of worship. , in this area of ​​the city that needed this renaissance push,” he stressed.

The mayor also took the opportunity to challenge himself to bring more projects of this kind to Coimbra.

“Challenge us, because we will try to justify it. Such a project, the size and the impact it has on society, like a social lift, makes all young people work together, create together, this is something absolutely fantastic, and we must thank the Armenian visionaries,” he concluded.