ElectrizArte: Combining engineering and arts

Our students of Electrical Engineering have to deal with little understanding of what they do in College as there are few opportunities to show their work. To tackle this situation, ElectrizArte was proposed to get students involved in an activity that included the application of technical knowledge mixed with artistic abilities. This idea was developed taking into account that many students tend to be attracted by arts, and that electrical engineering, perhaps at a bigger extent than other technical disciplines, can be linked easily with modern artistic expressions. The objectives of ElectrizArte were then stated to a) Use engineering in artistic expressions and b) Show the capabilities of engineering through arts, in an artistic spectacle. Both engineering and artistic components of the performance were developed by students. They conceived or adapted, designed and developed individual projects in various fields of engineering, including: computer vision, photonics, power and digital electronics. Therefore, students had a real-world design experience, hands-on projects and new complementing knowledge, as they had to learn in those topics where they had no expertise. ElectrizArte proved to be an attractive way to engage students in extracurricular, voluntary, enriching work. This event is now likely to become an annual tradition.