Abstract
In safety-critical systems a global high-reliability is sought, including in the communication network when a distributed control system is used. The FlexRay protocol was developed within the automotive industry with the necessary characteristics to respond to the demands of safety-critical applications, e.g. X-by-wire. Nevertheless, the FlexRay protocol does not define a mechanism to guarantee message delivery, nor defines global error signaling, leaving the resolution of these problems to the application. This paper presents a preliminary proposal for a mechanism that uses temporal redundancy to recover transient errors in time-triggered messages. An extra node is used to trigger message retransmissions whenever errors or omissions do effectively occur. This mechanism uses the FlexRay dynamic segment to implement message retransmissions, leading to a minimum recovery time, typically one cycle, together with a very small bandwidth usage.

Abstract
Data networks are naturally prone to interferences that can corrupt messages, leading to performance degradation or even to critical failure of the corresponding distributed system. To improve resilience of critical systems, time-triggered networks are frequently used, based on communication schedules defined at design-time. These networks offer prompt error detection, but slow error recovery that can only be compensated with bandwidth overprovisioning. On the contrary, the Flexible Time-Triggered (FTT) paradigm uses online traffic scheduling, which enables a compromise between error detection and recovery that can achieve timely recovery with a fraction of the needed bandwidth. This article presents a new method to recover transmission errors in a time-triggered Controller Area Network (CAN) network, based on the Flexible Time-Triggered paradigm, namely FTT-CAN. The method is based on using a server (traffic shaper) to regulate the retransmission of corrupted or omitted messages. We show how to design the server to simultaneously: (1) meet a predefined reliability goal, when considering worst case error recovery scenarios bounded probabilistically by a Poisson process that models the fault arrival rate; and, (2) limit the direct and indirect interference in the message set, preserving overall system schedulability. Extensive simulations with multiple scenarios, based on practical and randomly generated systems, show a reduction of two orders of magnitude in the average bandwidth taken by the proposed error recovery mechanism, when compared with traditional approaches available in the literature based on adding extra pre-defined transmission slots.

Abstract
Innovation and research in Higher Education Institutions (HEI) are closely linked with its teaching purpose. On the other hand, the social responsibility of HEI is, more and more, a mission that they must also embrace. This paper highlights the importance of carrying out projects in co-promotion between HEI and Third Sector Organizations as, for instance, Private Social Solidarity Institutions (IPSS), for all involved partners, but above all, in the contribution to solve community problems. Three projects are presented that results from the articulation between Coimbra Institute of Engineering (ISEC) and the IPSS-CASPAE, which have contributed to a positive social impact and the production of scientific knowledge. These projects aim to improve the quality of life of its users, encourage active ageing and collaborate with health professionals in the area of rehabilitation and neurodegenerative diseases, specially Parkinson Disease.

Abstract
Energy storage in electric vehicles and homes can be obtained by the use of batteries, being Lithium based cells common nowadays. These batteries need a close control for evaluating namely its state-of-charge, to use as efficiently as possible the stored energy, ensuring an operational safe use of the battery bank. This article presents a modular battery bank, composed of modules of four lithium cells each, focusing on the communication network that is based on CAN, which controls its charge and discharge and produces alarms for diverse conditions. As this network is connected to the global vehicle or home network, some security measures are discussed, as internal or external attacks can happen that can hinder or even interrupt the energy supply, which can constitute a severe major hazard.

Abstract
Currently, humanity faces major challenges, namely in terms of energy production, consumption and management, in which electrical engineering should play a relevant role in the search for sustainable solutions. This training area is essential for industrial and economic development, and is therefore associated with economic competitiveness. However, demand for electrical engineering programs is decreasing, despite continuing to be a professional area with high employability. In view of this, it is important to try to understand the motivations and expectations that lead students to apply for programs in the field of electrical engineering. Thus, this study aimed to understand and analyse the motivations and expectations that led students from a Portuguese Polytechnic higher education institution to choose the field of electrical engineering. To this end, a questionnaire survey was used to collect the students' perceptions about why they chose this area, their expectations about their future professional activity, as well as about the role they attribute to engineering. The results show that students highly value the fact that it is a broadband area, with high employability and a wide variety of potential professional activities. Regarding the professional activity that students would like to pursue, the results stand out in the areas of renewable energies, the automobile industry, and electrical installations. The students' perception of the engineering's role reflects a generalized view that its objective is to improve the living conditions of humanity. However, some answers indicate a restricted perception of a technical character (it serves to make projects, calculations). The results obtained help to understand the profile and expectations of students who choose the field of electrical engineering, potentially contributing for the higher education institutions: i) to promote actions with the aim of enhancing the attractiveness of this area of knowledge; ii) to adapt their programs to the expectations of students and thus reduce academic dropouts or failure.

Abstract
The paper presents the Scratch4All project, co-financed by the Portuguese Social Innovation Mission Structure, namely the presentation of the methodology applied in the impact assessment of the first year of the project. A project that uses Scratch software to teach programming languages to fourth grade students (elementary school). Based on the defined indicators, on the characteristics of the beneficiaries and on the activities implemented, adequate measurement instruments were developed to verify the impacts on the target audience. Using secondary and primary sources, indicators were developed to measure the level of change that occurred in each project beneficiary, using quantitative tools. Regarding the software used, Scratch, it was possible to perceive that it enables greater group work skills, working on current social issues and/or technological profiles, fosters greater responsibility in the use of technologies, within the scope of digital citizenship, generates an increase in creativity and innovation, greater willingness to investigate and research different topics, greater communication and collaborative work. © 2022 IEEE Computer Society. All rights reserved.