Ideas competition

The selection process will value the potential contribution to the sustainability of the Faculty, as well as the feasibility of the project, including a cost-benefit analysis. The prize is 1000 euros for the winning proposal.

The proposals must be written by mixed teams made up of students, teachers, researchers and/or non-teaching staff from Ciências ULisboa, and others whose activities are usually carried in the campus, in areas such as:

• Efficient use of energy and/or water on campus;

• Generation and/or use of energy;

• Reduction of waste production;

• Reduction of the ecological footprint of processes;

• Promotion of the communities well-being;

• Use of local products;

• Reducing the impact of the Faculty in the city of Lisbon, etc.

The jury will be composed by Maria João Rodrigues, Director of Lisboa E-Nova, Júlia Alves, from the Safety, Health and Sustainability Office of Ciências ULisboa and Jorge Maia Alves, Vice Dean of Ciências ULisboa.

The Faculty Dean will do his best to implement the winning proposals, if possible, in a process to be followed up by the participating team(s). The rules are available.

Applications are now open for the 7th edition of the Ideas for Sustainability Competition (2025)! Submit your application by 31 December 2025 using the form.

The Ideas for Sustainability Competition is an annual competition aimed at identifying and promoting initiatives by members of the Faculty of Sciences that can contribute to sustainability, in its various forms, on campus and in its interaction with the city of Lisbon. The selection process will assess the potential contribution to the sustainability of the Faculty of Sciences as well as the feasibility of the project, including a cost-benefit analysis.

Proposals must be drawn up by mixed teams comprising students, professors, researchers and/or non-academic staff from CIÊNCIAS, as well as others whose work is usually carried out on campus, in areas such as:

• Efficient use of energy and/or water on campus;

• Energy generation and/or use;

• Reduction of waste production;

• Reduction of the ecological footprint of processes;

• Development of measures aimed at improving the well-being of communities;

• Use of local products;

• Reduction of the impact of Ciências ULisboa on the city of Lisbon, etc.

The prize for the winning proposal is €1,000, and €500 for the runner-up.

The Faculty Dean undertakes to make every effort to implement the winning proposals as far as possible, in a process to be monitored by the proposing team(s), in accordance with the competition rules.

• Appointment order for the jury of the 7th edition, available for registered users.

The winners of the 6th edition of the Ideas for Sustainability Competition at Ciências (2024) were announced during the 3rd edition of Ciências ULisboa Sustainability Week, which took place from 31 March to 4 April 2025.

First place in this edition was awarded to the team behind the proposal: “KEYHOLE GARDEN – The key to fertility”, which suggests creating composting gardens near campus cafés and bars as a way to make use of organic waste brought in by members of our academic community. The term "Keyhole Garden" comes from the shape of this compact garden: a circular structure with a raised bed surrounding a central cylindrical vermicomposter in contact with the soil. The design follows permaculture principles and aims to offer a scalable solution for a variety of contexts. The first prototype is set to be installed on the terrace of the C2 Building bar and will come to life later in 2025.

An honourable mention was also awarded to the proposal ‘Projeto Trivial’, an idea focused on promoting social and environmental sustainability on campus through the creation of structures that encourage interaction and a sense of community within the academic environment.

(Jury composition defined in Order D/73/2024).

• Ata da Reunião do Júri - 6.ª Edição (Minutes of the Jury Meeting)    

The results of the Ideas Competition - Sustainability on the Science Campus 2023 were released during Science Sustainability Week, in April 2024, and the winning team was announced as: the proposal “Autonomia21@FCUL: Autonomy development course for people with Trisomy 21 at FCUL”. This initiative stood out for addressing a critical gap in the education and employment of young adults with Trisomy 21 (T21), promoting a course aimed at developing autonomy and integration into the job market. The social relevance and transformative potential of this proposal were fundamental for its selection, highlighting the importance of inclusion and autonomy for this group of young people.

Furthermore, the Honorable Mention was awarded to the proposal “Solar ovens for heating meals on the C7 terrace”. This idea stands out for its innovation and environmental relevance, taking advantage of the abundant solar radiation in Lisbon to promote the use of renewable energy. The jury valued the proposal as a commitment to energy efficiency, highlighting the construction and testing of prototypes that will optimize the ovens' performance. Additionally, the creation of a leisure space will promote conviviality and social interaction, contributing to environmental awareness in the community.

The Directorate of Sciences ULisboa and the jury of the 2023 edition would like to thank and congratulate all the candidate teams, especially the winning teams, who demonstrated a strong commitment to sustainability and social inclusion!

Related documentation (access by prior authentication):

• Ata da Reunião do Júri - 5.ª Edição (Minutes of the Jury Meeting)

The winners of the 2022 edition of the Ideas Competition - Sustainability on the Science Campus were announced on Science Day 2023, on the 19th of April.

The Directorate of Sciences ULisboa and the jury of the 2022 edition of the contest thank and congratulate all the candidate teams.

The winning team was the proposal called “DOMUS CIÊNCIAS – Abrigar e conhecer de perto a biodiversidade de Ciências”, which proposes the installation of fauna monitoring stations and artificial shelters, representing the fundamental complement for the progress of the +Biodiversidade@ Ciências project.

The Honorable Mention was given to the proposal called “Bioilhas – Salas de aula biodiversas”, which intends to adapt the current green spaces that are of low utility, in outdoor classrooms, through the creation of biodiverse meadows.

The Director of Sciences ULisboa undertakes to encourage, as far as possible, the teams to implement these projects.

Related documentation (access by prior authentication):

• Ata da Reunião do Júri - 4.ª Edição (Minutes of the Jury Meeting)

The 2021 edition of the Ideas Competition - Sustainability on the Science Campus began in October 2021 and the winners were known on Science Day 2022.

Having gathered and determined results, the jury of the contest of the 2021 edition and the ULisboa Science Faculty Board would like to thank and congratulate all the teams for participating in the Ideas Contest – Sustainability on the Science Campus.

The selection of the winners took into account the proposals compulsorily prepared by mixed teams formed by students, teachers, researchers and/or non-teaching workers of ULisboa Sciences and others whose activity usually takes place on the Science campus.

The jury awarded the first place to the proposal called “Banco de Tempo FCUL - Porque em Casa não pode faltar nada” ("Time Bank FCUL - Because in Home can not be missed anything"), because it considers that it has great potential to promote the development of the social pillar of sustainability, not only internally, but even externally, within the community surrounding the School and considered relevant the fact that this application is well founded,  to have a clear expression of support from the entity responsible for the national network of Banco do Tempo and, also, to be the first initiative of its kind in the context of a Higher Education Institution;

He also attributed an Honorable Mention to the proposal called “Auditoria à Rede Hídrica – Estado e Gestão da Rede Hídrica do Campus da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa” ("Audit of the Water Network – State and Management of the Water Network of the Campus of the Faculty of Sciences Lisbon"), because considers that it reveals the realization of a previous work by the authors very meritorious for having been done with a degree of depth and rigor that should be highlighted.

As defined in the Competition Regulations, the Director of Sciences ULisboa undertakes to make every effort to implement, as far as possible, the winning proposals.

Related documentation (access by prior authentication)

• Minutes of the Jury Meeting - 3rd Edition

As a result of the pandemic situation in which we live, the evaluation of the proposals submitted to the Ideas for Sustainability Competition suffered a significant delay, and we regret that we are only now announcing the results of this contest.

Having managed to gather and determine the results, the Competition Jury of the 2020 edition and the Faculty Board would like to thank and congratulate all the teams for their participation in the Ideas for Sustainability Competition.

Ciências ULisboa created this competition with the aim of identifying and promoting initiatives that can contribute to sustainability, in the environmental, social and economic aspects within our campus and/or in its interaction with the city of Lisbon. We were pleased to note a high level of participation, with innovative and inspiring ideas that greatly contribute to the future implementation of sustainability measures involving our community.

The selection of the winners took into consideration the potential contribution to the sustainability of Ciências ULisboa; the feasibility of the idea, including the cost-benefit analysis; and the clarity of the presentation of the idea. On these assumptions the Jury awarded first place to the proposal called "Energy Consumption in Science Laboratories", for considering that it foresees the continuation of work previously developed in the scope of the school's master's dissertations, and also for promoting the desirable involvement of the community in the theme of efficient energy use. The Jury also decided to award an Honorable Mention to the proposal called "Ciências Connect", considering that it has the potential to significantly increase the connection of the virtual science campus – Smart Campus – to the theme of Sustainability.

As stated in the Rules of the Competition, the Faculty Dean is committed to make every effort to implement, to the extent possible, the winning proposals.

The new edition will be announced soon so we hope to be able to count on your participation again, with more innovative and sustainable ideas to implement in the Faculty campus.

Related documents (available to registered users):

• Ata da Reunião do Júri - 2.ª Edição (Minutes of the Jury Meeting)

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  We regret the delay in publishing the results of the 2020 edition of the Ideas for Sustainability Competition. They will be released until the beginning of the next school year.

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  The 2020 edition of the Ideas for Sustainability Competition has already begun. From 28 October, and until the end of this year, you can submit your applications.

  We remind you that the purpose of this competition is to identify and promote initiatives that contribute to campus sustainability.

  The prize for the winning proposal is 1000 euros (more info in the regulation).

  We look forward to your ideas and wish you all good luck!

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  The 2020 edition of the Ideas for Sustainability Competition is about to begin and we are once again looking forward to innovative and sustainable ideas to implement on campus.

  From 28 October 2020 and until the end of this year you can submit your applications via the sustainability portal. The winners will be known at the beginning of the year 2021.

  We recall that this annual competition aims to identify and promote initiatives from Faculty members that can contribute to sustainability. The selection process will value the potential contribution to the sustainability of Ciências ULisboa as well as the feasibility of the project, including a cost-benefit analysis. Proposals must be prepared by mixed teams of students, teachers, researchers and/or non-teaching staff from Ciências ULisboa and others whose activities are usually carried out on our campus. The areas of intervention of the proposals may include, among others, the following themes:

  • Efficient use of energy and/or water in the campus of Ciências ULisboa;

  • Generation and/or use of energy;

  • Reduction of waste production;

  • Reduction of the ecological footprint of processes;

  • Creation of measures aimed at greater community well-being;

  • Use of local products;

  • Reducing the impact of the Faculty of Sciences in the city of Lisbon.

  The prize for the winning proposal is 1000 euros and the regulation is available.

  As already announced in the Dispatch issued by the Faculty Dean, the jury will be composed by Jorge Maia Alves, from the Faculty Board, Júlia Alves, from the Safety, Health and Sustainability Office of Ciências ULisboa and Maria João Rodrigues, Director of Lisboa E-Nova (see Dispatch D/40/2020 and its rectification, only available to registered users).

  We look forward to your participation!

As we all know, as a consequence of the COVID pandemic, the general functioning of the Faculty has been severely disrupted, which has also affected the evaluation of the proposals submitted to the Ideas for Sustainability Competition, which suffered a significant delay.

Having managed to gather and determine the results, the Competition Jury of the 2019 edition and the Faculty Board would like to thank and congratulate all the teams for their participation in the Ideas for Sustainability Competition.

Ciências ULisboa created this competition with the aim of identifying and promoting initiatives that can contribute to sustainability, in the environmental, social and economic aspects within our campus and/or in its interaction with the city of Lisbon. We were pleased to note a high level of participation, with innovative and inspiring ideas that greatly contribute to the future implementation of sustainability measures involving our community.

The selection of the winners took into consideration the potential contribution to the sustainability of Ciências ULisboa; the feasibility of the idea, including the cost-benefit analysis; and the clarity of the presentation of the idea. On these assumptions the Jury awarded first place ex-aequo to the two proposals called "FCUL+Verde: promoting and valuing flora in Ciências" and "BioCommunity: together we discover biodiversity in Ciências", as it considers that they are very similar proposals, with an equivalent merit in terms of the evaluation criteria, and also because it believes that both will benefit from joint implementation. The Jury also decided to award an Honorable Mention to the proposal called "CHILL - CHIcken Tractors as an efficient and sustainable Link in closed Loop agriculture".

As stated in the Rules of the Competition, the Faculty Dean is committed to make every effort to implement, to the extent possible, the winning proposals.

The next edition is already being prepared and as such, we encourage everyone to participate with innovative and sustainable ideas to implement in the Faculty campus.

Related documents (available to registered users):

• Ata da Reunião do Júri - 1.ª Edição (Minutes of the Jury Meeting)