Education Summit 2026 in Guimarães: VEX AIR drones and AI Vision workshops
From 9 to 11 April 2026 the Portuguese city of Guimarães hosted Education Summit 2026, one of the largest and most influential education events on the Iberian Peninsula. The Pavilhão Multiusos de Guimarães brought together more than 40 speakers, many exhibitors and thousands of teachers, school leaders and policy makers who share a passion for modernising education. I had the honour of leading two hands-on workshops there and presenting VEX robotics to an international audience.
Why Education Summit matters
The summit goes beyond an ordinary conference. It was opened by the Portuguese Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Fernando Alexandre, and the programme featured speakers such as António Sampaio da Nóvoa, César Bona, Eduardo Sá and José Pacheco of the Escola da Ponte. Its themes ranged from inclusive education and the neuroscience of learning to artificial intelligence in the classroom and the role of play and movement in child development.
VEX Robotics was one of the event's main sponsors, which confirms that robotics and STEM are becoming a central pillar of modern education rather than a side activity.
Two workshops: VEX AIR drones and AI Vision
- VEX: Introdução do Drone VEX AIR na sala de aula – exploring the future of aerial robotics in education.
- VEX: Sensores de Visão com Inteligência Artificial no VEX IQ – a deep dive into AI-driven vision sensors.
Drones: more than flying
Drones are highly motivating on their own, but their real classroom value is in what students learn: physics in practice (aerodynamics, forces and stabilisation through direct experience), advanced programming (planning movement in three-dimensional space demands spatial thinking and complex logic) and active exploration (instant visual feedback turns learning into a dynamic process that sparks curiosity).
AI Vision: understanding artificial intelligence
The second workshop was about the AI Vision sensor on the VEX IQ platform. As AI becomes part of everyday life, children need to understand the principles of machine vision. Students see how a sensor recognises colours, shapes and objects, which demystifies concepts that otherwise sound complicated. By setting logical conditions ("if you detect this object, perform that action") they practise structured problem solving on real examples.
Why it matters for young people
Drones and smart sensors help students become creators of technology rather than passive users. The response from our Portuguese colleagues exceeded all expectations: the hall was full to the last corner, which shows that educational robotics is becoming a key bridge between the classroom and the careers of the future. Our goal is clear: to offer tools that encourage teamwork and the responsible use of modern technology.
Impressions and what comes next
The atmosphere was inspiring. Conversations with Portuguese, Spanish and other European colleagues confirmed that Slovenia has competitive expertise and can actively help shape the European space of technology education. The exchange of experience on introducing VEX platforms across the whole education ladder, from kindergarten to secondary school, was especially valuable. I returned from Guimarães with a bag full of new ideas, valuable international contacts and fresh motivation.
Thank you to VEX Robotics (Clint Goodman) and the organisers (Sílaba) for their trust. See you next year!
Links
Slovenian-language report: robotech-events.si. Original announcement: robotech.si. Do you want VEX robotics workshops for your school or event? Get in touch.
