Project won Ideias do Bem in 2018
Professor Alexandre Guilherme, Robson Souza and Mariana Ruiz / Photo: Bruno Todeschini
Promoting inclusion in its broadest aspect is the goal of the platform IncluiTec, conceived by Psychology major Robson Souza. Initially conceived under the name TchêInclui, in 2018, the platform brings together services that can be used by schools, companies and people looking for information on the topic. The platform will connect the community in need with students, research groups and professionals interested in proposing solutions.
The idea came up in the first semester of 2018, as he was enrolled in the course on School and Educational Psychology I, taught by School of Health and Life Sciences professor Dr. Alexandre Guilherme. The professor uses the Problem Based Learning (PBL) methodology, in which learning is based on the search for solutions to certain problems. Students should visit a school to understand the role a school psychologist plays and the possibilities of working in an educational institution as a psychologist. They would eventually create an informative website, with inclusion being the main theme. Robson, however, wanted to do something different: he designed an app.
“That was such a bold move. I loved the idea and realized that we could take a step further, as I saw great potential in it”, Dr Guilherme says. Robson was invited for his Group for Research on Education and Violence (Grupev) and signed up for the project to participate in Ideias do Bem, an event promoted by Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (Idear) and by the School of Health and Life Sciences, which seek to propose creative and innovative solutions to health-related problems. Amid the development of the activities, Robson was joined by Gastronomy majors Flavio Cordeiro and Nicolle Cernicchiaro; Pharmacy major Stéphanie Medeiros; and Psychology major Eduarda Racky. As they ended up in the top position, they had all the support and structure of Tecnopuc to improve the platform.
“We remodeled the business, we looked into the marketing and financial aspects, we started working on some tools – as we always tested it with principals, schools and students”, Robson adds. It was at this time that we were approached by São Paulo, and this got us to change the name.
The Psychology major claims that the idea has always been to create a practical and functional tool. “We wanted to offer a tool to help managers, teachers and psychologists. If a school is home to students with dyslexia, for example, educators can check out the latest articles on the subject or some research group in the area to get fresh updated through the platform ”, he explains.
Since then, the app has been discussed at scientific events and Robson has delivered training sessions. The initiative has also made it to the finals of the program Centelha, a partnership between Fapergs and Fapesp, which is intended to give a headstart to startup development.
Click here to get access to IncluiTec. You will receive a link to sign up. You can get access to general information, personnel records or records of institutions that need solutions. Each profile contains personalized information and notifications.
In order to deliver solutions to demands, Robson resorted to artificial intelligence, using Helena, IncludesTec’s virtual assistant. She takes requests and searches for available resolution options in her database. The platform offers information and support on diversity and inclusion, with a focus on disabled individuals, immigrants, LGBTQI + as well as people with Down Syndrome, autism, among others. It also offers advising services online, analysis and development of Human Resources census for companies, lectures, courses and workshops, among other services.
The app uses the concept of social inclusion model, as taught by Dr Guilherme in class, which is more comprehensive than the medical model. “This model sees inclusion in schools as more than merely integrating students with special needs. It considers gender and sexuality issues, racism and social issues”, the professor explains. So far, more than 400 people have been directly served by the app.
Currently, the IncludesTec team is made up of Robson, Eduarda (a Psychology major) and the Advertising major Mariana Ruiz. For this year, one of the goals is to continue working on the platform, with the support of Experimental Agency of Software Engineering (Ages) of PUCRS, as well as the School of Health and Life Sciences and Idear. In addition, the student says that he intends to attend more fairs, reach out to more people, make the platform more popular and raise funds. “Our motto is to bring people together and build solutions”, he highlights.
One of the actions offered by IncludesTec are workshops and lectures on the most diverse subjects related to inclusion and diversity. In 2018, when the platform was in an experimental phase, Robson received a demand: to develop an activity that worked on the themes of gender violence, bullying at school and female empowerment with 15-year-old girls served by ONG Suve (Sociedade União Vila dos Eucaliptos), in the Mario Quintana area of Porto Alegre.
Ilson Renato Marques, president of Suve, met Robson during the 1th Social Hackathon of Porto Alegre, offered by the Municipal Government. The event was intended to find solutions for the prevention of violence against women, sexual diversity and gender identity and relied on the support of the Alliance for Innovation, of which PUCRS is part. “On the occasion, we presented the project, asked for support and soon the partnership was born”, he says.
Suve conducts a project with girls from the community, working on issues related to women empowerment and promoting, a debutante ball every year. 2020 will see its 10th edition take place. For the workshop requested via IncludeTec, Robson had the support of Grupev and the supervision of Professor Alexandre. “During the activity, the participants put together a booklet with emergency contacts and tips for reporting violence against women,” Robson reports. According to him, the girls left the workshop with the mission of being multipliers in their schools. “Furthermore, it was the first time they were at a university. They were delighted and motivated to study and, one day, return as students ”, he concludes.
For Ilson Renato, through this project, it is possible to show other perspectives to these young women: “This year, we want to go even further, and we certainly hope to make other partnerships through IncludesTec”. The debutante ball always takes place at Bairro Quintio Mario Quintana, from Dec 14 – 22, as the organization works begin in May. In addition to this initiative, Suve, relying on more than 30 years of history, carries out other projects via the federal and state government, and runs a municipal school for early childhood education.
