Extension for Sustainability

University extension and sustainability are interrelated concepts, which aim to bring the academic community closer to the social and environmental challenges of society. Thus, with its extension programs, the Facens University Center contributes to the promotion of sustainability, sharing its knowledge and resources to solve relevant issues in areas such as the environment; economic development; health; among others. Our students and teachers have the opportunity to apply their knowledge in practical projects, contributing both to the development of future professionals committed to sustainability and to the sustainable development of our community.

“Very few people onEarth ever say: ‘I'm doing right now, the most important thing I could bedoing.’ If you join this fight, that's what you'll say”– Bill McKibben

Robotics Academy

The robotics academy is a project formed by students from the Facens University Center, which brings the teaching of robotics to young people in a state of vulnerability in public schools.

This activity goes beyond programming, it also makes students find challenges and propose solutions for them, developing teamwork, strategic thinking, protagonism, dialogue, decision making, creativity and many other technical, and behavioral skills. In 2022, 7 public schools in the State network were served and 128 students were impacted with the Robotics course.

Smart Mall Facens

Céu Azul Vegetable Garden

Based on a demand from the NGO Oficina Céu Azul, Agronomic Engineering students applied their technical knowledge in the revitalization of a construction site, for the creation of a vegetable garden and training for its care.

The project took place in the Olericulture curricular component and was carried out with children in vulnerable situations, attended by the NGO. In this way, students had the opportunity to put their knowledge into practice and exercise their empathy and solidarity skills.

EcoGinc

EcoGinc allowed the 26 volunteer students of the Facens University Center a true learning journey about Sustainability that infected more than 135 students from 19 and 39 years of High School at the João Clímaco de Camargo Pires State School, in Sorocaba. The project promoted nine meetings between the volunteers and the students of the school, and during this period, they had a scavenger hunt, which offered not only a moment of relaxation and teamwork but also left a legacy at the school, so that the institution, the students and the volunteers came out of this experience transformed.

Eco Team for a Better World Project

Eco Team for a Better World is a social project that aims to build bridges to a better future in the lives of children and adolescents, working with sustainability, technology and entrepreneurship. It is supervised by the entities CCBEU (Centro Cultural Brasil e Estados Unidos), United States Diplomatic Mission in Brazil and sponsored by the United States Department. In 2022, Facens was a partner in the project, giving lectures and mentoring by IP Facens, Lince Facens and Facens Sustainability Committee.

The project included 40 high school students, between 14 and 18 years old, who had training involving social entrepreneurship, English class, maker culture, sustainability and technology. Among the activities developed with the students was the production of a sustainable mug pilot unit that could be replicated in a 3D printer, in addition, they carried out studies and experiments addressing water flow reducer installations, electricity generation through a static bicycle and reuse of organic waste through a biodigester.

Facens, in addition to giving lectures and mentoring, also sponsored part of the winners' award, granting two full scholarships, one for undergraduate and one for graduate studies.

ArrecadaBem

ArrecadaBem was an activity organized by the Student Sustainability Committee, in partnership with Psychology students, in which they mobilized other students and Facens employees. The activity consisted of a competition to mobilize actions to donate toys, children's clothes and books, which totaled 119 items to be directed to the Kayon Institute in Action.

ArrecadaBem

The Smart Forests Project was born from the union of three educational institutions – FACENS, Newton Paiva and CESUPA – with the purpose of developing smart and high-impact solutions to improve the quality of life and sustainability of forest communities, through challenges posed to 12 teams formed by students from the three institutions.

In 2022, the impacted site was Ilha do Combú, a riverside community located on the outskirts of Belém do Pará. The challenge proposed to the students was to provide access to drinking water and electricity. The 12 teams formed presented their ideas during a Hackathon that took place in May. The three teams that obtained the best results went to the final stage and received seed capital in the amount of R$3,000 for prototyping their projects.

In July, all students traveled to Sorocaba to use the entire structure of Facens laboratories and test the efficiency of their prototypes. Then, everyone traveled to Belém to implement and monitor their projects with the community of Ilha do Combú.

Between August and October 2022, the efficiency and impact of the solutions were analyzed. On October 27, the teams presented their final results and the PURIFY team was the winner of the edition, taking the prize of R$5,000. Their solution, in addition to bringing drinking water, had an autonomous solar energy system, which supplies both the ultraviolet light used for microbiological filtration and can also be used to connect small household appliances in the house.

Smart Forests 2022 featured Master Sponsors: Alcoa, Votorantim Reserves, and Prysmian Group, which were essential to the success of the project.

Awards in student competitions focused on Sustainability