The School of Engineering marks the 5th Mathematics Week with outreach activities, innovative tech and a keynote on post-quantum cryptography

CUNEF Universidad’s School of Engineering celebrated the 5^th Mathematics Week with a range of activities designed to invite students and faculty to explore the appeal of this discipline using a practical, innovative and participatory approach.

Interactive activities to explore the world of Mathematics

On Wednesday, 11 March, the dining hall of Pirineos Campus hosted different interactive activities, including a prime number display, a sensor-equipped chair, an emotion detection camera and a video game that analyses student motivation. The initiative was met with enthusiasm by students and faculty, and  the levels of participation were extraordinary.

The programme continued on Thursday, 12 March, featuring a repeat of these activities and adding a special highlight: the keynote lecture “Who's afraid of the Big Bad Qubit? Mathematics for post-quantum cryptography”, by María Isabel González Vasco, Vice-President of the Royal Spanish Mathematical Society. The day also included the awards ceremony for the 2026 3D Printing Contest.

Tech for well-being and education

The sensor-equipped chair, designed by Professor Victoria López and Professors Pavel Harold Llamoca Portella and Joe Luis Carrión Jumbo, members of her research team, stood out among the interactive initiatives. This device features an embedded sensor array that monitors body motion while the user is seated. These signals are then analysed to detect patterns of restlessness associated with nervousness or agitation.

Professor César Guevara presented an emotion detection camera powered by neural networks that identifies facial expressions associated with emotional states like anger or sadness in real time. The system, developed in Python, also integrates an ambient sound detector that measures decibels to evaluate how noise levels can impact findings.

In turn, Professor Diego Fernando Riofrío Luzcando presented an interactive video game that combines tech and innovative behaviour analysis methods to analyse student motivation.

The prime number display, which contributed to the outreach and collaborative spirit of this initiative, was led by Professor Francisco Criado Gallart and a group of student fellows.

The activities featured in the 5^th Mathematics Week successfully connected the discipline with real-world applications, technology and society, fostering creativity and hands-on learning.

Lead:

CUNEF Universidad School of Engineering celebrated the 5^th Mathematics Week with a range of activities designed to invite students and faculty to explore the appeal of this discipline using a practical, innovative and participatory approach.