I am a 2nd year student of the Informatics Engineering degree at ISCTE-IUL. I learnt about the 2017 scientific initiation contest through an institutional email from ISCTE-IUL, and was interested to take part in it not only due to the opportunity to develop areas of knowledge not explored throughout the course, but also due to the challenge to participate made by some teachers in class, in particular Professor Alexandre Almeida in the course of Circuits for Communications.

It was with great joy and surprise that I saw my proposal selected as the winner of the contest at ISTA. I am currently in the bibliographic research phase on the subject, and I am very enthusiastic about developing the project over the next semester.

I cannot fail to emphasize the pride I feel in belonging to ISCTE-IUL, an institution deeply characterised by its entrepreneurial attitude and constant initiatives in the area of ​​research and its proximity to the labour market.

When two years ago I enrolled in the Computer Engineering degree, I was fortunate to discover this initiative of ISCTE-IUL through a teacher! Since I aspire to prepare myself for a future academic career and I like to accept challenges, I am currently going on my second consecutive application to this contest and the experience has been very enriching! This type of project, in partnership with the research units and with teachers, makes it possible, on the one hand, to understand what it really means to do research work and what capacities it takes to be successful. Personally, I would say that they are an excellent preparation for a master's degree. On the other hand, and above all, opportunities like this make it possible to contribute to something relevant to the ISCTE-IUL community and that is my greatest motivation to participate in this challenge!

At the beginning of the course I went to a teacher to present an idea that I wanted to explore, to know the possibilities within my reach. Unfortunately, but understandably, being just at the beginning of the degree proved to be an obstacle. A few months later I received an email from the Research Support Office about this contest, and I did not hesitate. The attribution of this honourable mention gives me the ground where I can grow an idea in which I very much believe. It is worth noting that the importance of this type of initiatives for the student body of the 1st cycle, besides instigating the autonomous search for knowledge, allows its application and testing, in order to complement theoretical learning. With the development of this study, it is my ambition to contribute to humanistic scientific knowledge, share the answers found with the community, but above all raise new questions, because it is with questions that science happens.

I learned about the initiative by exploring the ISCTE-IUL website and decided to participate because I believe that a critical spirit, new ideas and interest in research do not arise only after we have the diploma. Undergraduate students also have immense potential that is not always highlighted and the Scientific Initiation Contest is proof that ISCTE-IUL not only recognizes this very potential but that it intends to support its development. With this opportunity of being integrated into the CIS-IUL research unit, I hope to develop my research project on bullying, expanding scientific knowledge on this subject and getting direct contact with the research process at all its inherent stages, relying on the mentoring and support provided by CIS-IUL.

It all started with what I thought was a small project, a few days, which quickly turned out to be a project of months. Through this, I was encouraged to more thoroughly discover the world of research. The Scientific Initiation scholarship was the best possible ticket to this truly revealing journey, where nothing is what one thinks it is, where things that look fast and easy become hard and tiring. A real plateau of reality. The experience of learning by doing is what holds me most to the project. It was not long before I got used to failing and worshiping it: both from the perspective of the problem and from the vivid feeling of overcoming obstacles and being closer. It is easy to forget that I am with some of the most respected researchers in the area. The experience is so breath-taking that it cannot be taken for granted.

I'm in the 2nd year of the master's degree in Architecture. I learned of the initiative of the Research Support Office through an email sent by ISCTE-IUL where I learned that it was possible to develop some knowledge that was I beginning to acquire in the Architecture course in a more mature and professional way. This prospect, coupled with a financial bonus, is great to be able to continue studying, and to better understand what it is to do research in Architecture. With this grant I hope to be able to develop my research project, with the assistance of ISTAR-IUL, where I can meet new people who can help me to be a better architect in the future, perhaps, investigating Architecture.

It was from the email announcement that I became aware of the initiative, and the idea of ​​competing for the 2017 Scientific Initiation Contest with the project developed in the curricular units of the Sociology course. I considered it a great opportunity to invest in my project that had been outlined throughout the year in a more professional and scientific way, as well as enrich the training in my area of ​​study, since I would be given the opportunity to join a research unit and receive the follow-up and guidance of an experienced researcher. This ISCTE-IUL initiative is enterprising and allows us to demystify the current idea that research is only for a very restricted group of professionals, allowing students to immerse themselves in this career path and also leave their own mark in science.