On May 13 and June 4, the Portuguese team of the PilotSTRATEGY project visited several high schools as part of their outreach efforts. The schools included Escola Básica e Secundária Dr. Hernâni Cidade in Redondo, as well as Escola Secundária Dr. Joaquim de Carvalho and Escola Secundária Dr. Bernardino Machado, both located in Figueira da Foz.
The main goal of these visits was to promote awareness of CO₂ Capture, Transport, and Geological Storage technology (CCUS) among the school community, with a particular focus on high school students. These sessions provided researchers an opportunity to present the latest developments in CCUS evaluation in Portugal in an accessible and educational format.
The activity was structured in three parts:
- Pre-lecture questionnaire: Students completed a diagnostic questionnaire to assess their general knowledge of climate change and CCUS.
- Interactive session: Researchers gave an engaging talk that included dynamic videos, up-to-date information on greenhouse gas emission trends, and interactive examples to help students visualise the volume of CO₂ released into the atmosphere. The importance of CCUS was highlighted, along with an explanation of the concept and the presentation of a proposed site for CO₂ injection in Portugal.
- Post-visit evaluation: Students completed a follow-up questionnaire to assess what they had learned during the session.
The initiative was well received by both students and teachers, who showed genuine interest in the topic. The questionnaire responses will be analysed by the project’s research team and used constructively to improve future interactions, particularly in terms of public engagement.
The sessions were led by researchers Ana Catarina Pinho, Pedro Pereira, and Rui Veloso—all members of the PilotSTRATEGY project.