Oeiras Center celebrates 24 Years of Innovation at 1st Alumni Meeting
On November 6th, the Oeiras Campus celebrated its 24th anniversary with a special program, bringing together dozens of guests including former students, teachers, researchers, partners and employees. The celebration included the campus’s first Alumni Meeting, a milestone that revived memories by sharing experiences in a relaxed networking environment, strengthening the ties between Técnico Oeiras and its growing Alumni community.
The celebration began with a welcome-cocktail, where Sofia Cabeleira, responsible for Técnico’s Alumni community, welcomed the guests. The Vice-President of the Instituto Superior Técnico for the Management of the Oeiras Campus, Professor Joana Mendonça, hosted the first presentation on “The Oeiras Campus at the center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship”, highlighting the importance of the campus as a driver of new ideas and technologies. “To the sound of these stars, let’s look to the future and think about what we envision for our campus,” commented Joana Mendonça, encouraging the audience to reflect on the impact of the innovation promoted by Técnico Oeiras. Professor Pedro Amaral, Vice-President of Instituto Superior Técnico for Business Interface, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, then highlighted the campus’ influence on entrepreneurship and the training of professionals who are benchmarks in the market.
The program began with a debate on “The role of the technician as a catalyst for new ideas” moderated by Professor José Epifânio da Franca. Among the participants were Eng. Rui Jorge Santos, Alumnus and Co-Founder of BEYOND FUELS, Dr. Diogo Santos, Partner at Iberis and Eng. Maria Vilar, Alumna and Founder of Immersiv Studios, who shared her experience: “It’s not just the capacity for resilience and work that we learn at Técnico, but the confidence that we are capable of making things happen. That engineer’s mentality, of discovering, seeking and achieving results, is what drives us,” said Maria Vilar. The participants emphasized the impact of Técnico in building professionals prepared for complex and competitive challenges.
To end the evening, the guests gathered to celebrate the 24th anniversary of the Oeiras Campus, with the cutting of the cake and a toast, attended by the President of the Instituto Superior Técnico, Professor Rogério Colaço, who highlighted the trajectory of the Campus.“It’s been 24 years of a great adventure.Many students have left here who are working in innovation and who have founded companies like Talkdesk, one of our unicorns.This year we launched the first satellite to be completely conceived, designed and built by students in Portugal.
We’re proud to be here celebrating.” Alumnus Manuel Severiano also highlighted the importance of his experiences at Técnico: “The memory that permeates this space is a memory of opportunities. One of the most important things was the sense of community.”
Long live the Oeiras Campus and its 24 years of excellence and innovation.