AVER-O-MAR WINS ENERGY UP GRAND PRIZE: €20,000 IN SOLAR PANELS
After learning on 14 May that we were one of the 10 national finalist schools in the Galp Energy Up 2024 project, we set off for Lisbon with renewed enthusiasm, having already won first prize twice.
We came with the certainty that we would be on the podium, but when we saw the three podium places awarded in each of the three categories, we were surprised… There was even some dismay among the students, as we didn’t go on stage, until the Galp Energy UP 2024 Grand Prize was announced and the name ‘Escola Básica de Aver-o-Mar’ was
announced!!! The joy was contagious and the shouts given in Lisbon, at the Pavilion of Knowledge, were heard in the Aver-o-Mar Grouping, throughout the city of Póvoa de Varzim!!!
We are the winners of the Grand Prize, awarded to the school that obtained the best score in all the competition criteria (prize not cumulative with the 1st place prizes per school level). In other words, the jury made up of Future Up partners (“ADENE – Agência para a Energia”, “APA – Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente”, “DGE – Direção Geral de Educação”), a media partner, a civil society representative from an NGO – Galp Solar (Galp group company) and the Galp Foundation, awarded our project the best score on all the criteria: the relationship and suitability of the solutions to the theme of efficiency in energy consumption.
(20 per cent); the relationship and appropriateness between the problems identified and the solutions applied with regard to energy efficiency (25 per cent); the innovation shown in the proposed solutions (10 per cent); the quality of the execution and implementation of the solutions (15 per cent); interdisciplinarity (including the ENEC domains) and transversality in the development of the project (10 per cent); the involvement of the community/partnerships (10 per cent); the conditions created for the continuity/sustainability of the solutions in the schools (5 per cent); the potential for replicability of the solutions (5 per cent).
The prize awarded corresponds to an installation of Galp solar panels, up to €20,000.00. It is estimated that this investment value allows for the installation of solar panels up to a maximum installed power of 30 kWp, a value that will be confirmed depending on the existing conditions, an investment that will be very important in terms of energy consumption in a school that has been committed to energy efficiency and sustainability in its projects, which are constantly being developed and updated.
The ceremony ended with a surprise, much to the delight of the hundreds of young people, with a performance by singer Diogo Piçarra. It was one of the most recorded and participated moments, not forgetting the morning visits to the exhibitions at the Pavilion of Knowledge and the direct action in experiments in the Chemistry Laboratory, where the students from Aver-o-Mar also proved to be good experts! Before returning, after a quick visit to the ‘Parque das Nações’ area, there was still time to taste the typical Belém custard tarts and enjoy an ice cream, not forgetting the dozens of photos and interviews given (to various reporters from the organisation, MegaHits, Observador, Jornal Económico…) so this was undoubtedly an unforgettable day for the students involved, who represented all their classmates.
Last but not least, Pedro Fernandes’ mention on RFM, shortly after 6pm and with the broadcast already being heard in the van on the way back, of the students from Aver-o-Mar Primary School, the big winners of EnergyUp 2024. On arrival, almost 16 hours after
leaving, and with parents already waiting, one last record, this time with a ‘mug’, 3D printed by António Cunha, was, after all, we have always won this challenge!
For the past five years, the Energy Up Prize has honoured schools that have developed exemplary projects in the areas of energy transition, sustainable mobility and more efficient energy consumption. This year, 80 applications were submitted, from schools all over the country, so this is an achievement that we believe fills the whole region with pride.
The Energy Up Award is an integral part of the Future Up Education Programme, which has the institutional support of the Directorate-General for Education (DGE), the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology (DGEG), the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) and the Energy Agency (ADENE), and for the 2022-2024 biennium will be co-financed by the Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE), as part of the Plan to Promote Efficiency in Energy Consumption. This Galp Foundation programme has already mobilised 21,000 schools across the country, mainland Portugal and the islands, impacting more than 2.2 million teachers and students.
The school submitted the Apolo Up project to the competition (an evolution of previous projects, which were developed using funds won in previous editions), in an application drawn up by the headmaster, Carlos Gomes de Sá, the social worker, Andreia Teixeira, with António Cunha as head of the Robotics Club, as well as the involvement of dozens of students and teachers directly involved in the project, in particular teachers Filipe Santos and Fátima Morais, who coordinate two other IoT projects that were national finalists in a Synopsis competition.
The school thanks all its partners and especially Póvoa de Varzim City Council for the support it has always given to the different activities and, in particular, for travelling to this award, believing that we represent the entire municipality in an exemplary way
The final video can be seen at the following link: Apolo UP AE Aver o Mar – YouTube
A video with records of this memorable day will be published soon, but we’ll leave you with a few records for now!