A delegation led by Professor Rui Calçada, Director of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), travelled to the Netherlands on an institutional mission between March the 25th and 29th.

The delegation also included Professors João Tavares, Director of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Raul Vidal, Emeritus Professor at the University of Porto and Coordinator for Alumni Relations at FEUP, Alexandra Pinto, Pro-Director for Cooperation, representing the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, João Canas Ferreira and Vítor Tavares, representing the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mariana Malta and Francisco Maia, representing the Department of Informatics Engineering.

On the first day, the delegation had the opportunity to visit TU Delft, where they met with various teachers, researchers and technicians and where, according to Rui Calçada, ‘it was possible to deepen partnerships with one of the most prestigious European technological universities’. The visit to the Dream Hall, where students develop highly innovative multidisciplinary projects with strong links to industry and international recognition, was one of the highlights of the visit. According to João Canas Ferreira, ‘the “Dream Hall” – a vibrant space dedicated to innovation and student projects – left me particularly impressed’.

At TU Eindhoven (TU/e), the delegation was welcomed by Francisco Caetano, a PhD candidate at that university and FEUP alumnus, and was able to attend various presentations by lecturers and researchers in the areas of electronics, emerging technologies and video coding architectures. Rui Calçada emphasises that ‘direct contact with the innovation ecosystem and with FEUP alumni currently integrated there revealed multiple opportunities for academic and scientific cooperation’. João Canas Ferreira was impressed by ‘the work carried out in the areas of electronics and embedded systems, revealing the high level of research and teaching that this institution offers’. Vítor Tavares, meanwhile, emphasised that ‘it was particularly revealing to see how academic institutions promote student autonomy, encouraging teamwork in truly collaborative contexts’.

The last day of the visit was spent at ASML, a world reference company in the semiconductor sector, founded in 1984 and with more than 44,000 employees worldwide. This initiative was attended by Clara Nunes dos Santos, Portuguese Ambassador to the Netherlands, Rui Almas, Director of AICEP Benelux and Marisa Monteiro Borsboom, President of the Portugal-Netherlands Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
With more than 100 FEUP engineers in the company, ‘this visit highlighted the impact of our training and the international recognition of Portuguese talent,’ says Rui Calçada. Mariana Malta was impressed to ‘interact with Alumni at their place of work – a leading company in the chip printing machine production sector, which, due to its extraordinary skills, is a very important asset for Europe at this troubled time in the world. These alumni are our worthy representatives in that country. It was gratifying to see how they are seen as professionals of excellence.’

This mission ended on a high note. Joana Donas and Viviana Silva, FEUP’s Alumni Ambassadors in the Netherlands, organised a dinner together with FEUP’s Alumni Office with the community of former students from the Faculty of Engineering living and working in the Netherlands. ‘It was a moment of reunion, sharing and great emotion. These engineers, now part of leading companies and research centres, are living testimonies to the excellence of our training and true ambassadors for FEUP around the world,’ says Rui Calçada.

‘As a lecturer for just over a year at FEUP, I have realised the legacy that has been passed on to me and the responsibility that this entails: to continue to produce professionals of excellence, who, whether they stay or go, are worthy representatives of the teaching excellence that we want to establish at FEUP every day,” says Mariana Malta.

Francisco Maia felt inspired and shared that ‘the proximity to spaces, people, universities and companies that have contributed so much to science and technology drives us to continue and strengthen the work we do at our university. This visit was an opportunity to broaden the horizons of what we can do, take note of what we already do well and reflect on how to improve.’ Regarding the Alumni event, Vítor Tavares praised ‘the excellent opportunity to meet former students again in a relaxed atmosphere, to realise the positive impact their experience at FEUP has had on their professional careers and to recognise the valuable role they play as ambassadors for our academy.’

There was also time for an audience at the Portuguese Embassy in The Hague, at the invitation of the Ambassador, a moment of great institutional symbolism.

‘The ties of cooperation between Portugal and the Netherlands in the fields of science, technology and higher education were strengthened, with FEUP asserting itself as an active and strategic partner in this international dialogue,’ said Rui Calçada, for whom ’this mission reinforces FEUP’s commitment to internationalisation, excellence and building bridges to the future.’

Article written by Joana G. Pinto/ SICC, FEUP

Photo (from left to right): Raul Vidal (Professor Emeritus at U.Porto), Francisco Maia (Professor at DEI/FEUP), Sandra Lucas (Professor at TU/e), Mariana Malta (Professor at DEI/FEUP), Alexandra Pinto (Professor at DEQB/FEUP) and Rui Calçada (FEUP’s Director).

On March 26, the Plano B nightclub hosted the first meeting of ‘Há Conversas na Movida’. The initiative, launched by the municipality, was designed for the economic agents of Porto’s Movida area and will feature five informal talks on five topics, led by experts, at five venues in the city’s nightlife area over the course of 2025.

For two hours, this first talk focussed on the theme of sound and the role of music in developing the local economy and enriching Porto’s culture and identity.

The Councillor for Economic Activities and Supervision, Filipa Correia Pinto, opened the session and explained that the main aim of the initiative is for each talk to contribute to a regular debate and exchange of experiences between economic agents, the sharing of good practices, greater knowledge on various topicsand, above all, the recognition and appreciation of the community and the economic ecosystem of this central area of Porto.

Daniel Duque, director and editor of Cabine – Cultura Eletrónica Portuguesa, moderated the conversation with the guests Gilberto Bernardes, musician, lecturer at DEI/FEUP and researcher at INESC TEC, and Rúben Domingues, curator and director of RDZ Music Agency.

Gilberto Bernardes, head of the Sound and Music Computing Laboratory, spoke about advances in sound technology and new musical solutions, namely the existence of speakers that allow you to direct the sound of music and the possibility of creating immersive experiences by synchronising sound and light.

Rúben Domingues, a producer and curator of musical events in Portugal, presented some musical projects he has been implementing in Porto, stressing the importance of installing sound limiters and studying the location of the stage at events, as a way of minimising the noise emitted by the sound.

This was followed by a question and answer session with the participants, mostly nightlife establishments in the Movida area.

The 4th edition of the U.Porto 3MT® (Three Minute Thesis) competition, an initiative that challenges doctoral students at the University of Porto to test and put into practice their communication skills, will have its final on May 16th at the Salão Nobre of U.Porto’s Rectorate.

There are 20 finalists who will be challenged to communicate science in a final that will be open to the whole community.

Bernardo Leite, a student of the Doctoral Programme in Informatics Engineering (ProDEI), will be one of the 8 FEUP representatives to explain his research work in just 3 minutes: Student-centric question generation.

Ever since he was a child, Bernardo has had a great passion for computers and how they work. He is currently a fully motivated researcher and professional in the field of Computer Science. His main areas of interest are Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing, Computer Supported Education and Question Generation (his PhD project, supervised by Henrique Lopes Cardoso (DEI)).

The Three Minute Thesis is sponsored by Caixa Geral de Depósitos and will award a cash prize of 2000 euros to the winner and an honourable mention of 1000 euros.

On 24 March, at the Solemn Session of Dia da Universidade 2025, the students António Lourenço Rodrigues and Luís Barbosa, from the Bachelor in Informatics and Computing Engineering (L.EIC), were awarded the Incentive Prize 2025, for the best 1st year students from the 14 faculties of U.Porto in the academic year 2023/2024.

The 22 awarded students stood out for the exceptional quality of their academic career in the 1st year of the program, led by António Lourenço Rodrigues, who finished with an average of 19.83 marks. Luís Barbosa was also on the 19 mark (19.35) with an equally fantastic first year.

António said in an interview about the prize: ‘The Incentive Award represents recognition, on the part of the University, of my efforts throughout the first year. For me, it’s one more motivation to keep doing my best and improving academically.’ The interview given to the U.Porto’s communication team can be read in full here.

Luís Barbosa also sees the Incentive Award as recognition of his efforts over the past year. “It’s a motivation to keep learning and studying” says Luís in his interview.

The Incentive Award has been awarded annually since 2010 and corresponds to an individual monetary prize corresponding to the annual tuition fee applied to U.Porto’s national students.

Photo (from left to the right): Luís Barbosa and António Lourenço Rodrigues.