Alumni
Alumni
DECivil Alumni have played an important role in the society, contributing decisively to economic and social development of the country. Técnico Alumni Network plays a strategic role, by providing an alumni contact network and promoting a strong link with the school. Técnico Alumni Network is based on three major areas: lifelong learning, knowledge updating and a strong community oriented towards scientific and technological production.
Testimonials
João Delgado
Current job: Senior Business Developer at Fusion Fuel (Portugal)
It has been three and a half years since I finished my PhD degree, where I had the opportunity to co-develop it between IST and EPFL in Switzerland from 2014 to 2018. That journey was a crazy adventure where most of my time in Portugal was spent designing, overseeing the construction, commissioning and operating an experimental test-rig at the Hydraulics laboratory. I warmly remember all those challenging, but rewarding times and having Professor Dídia Covas, my mentor and friend, fully supporting my journey and development in the process.
As a PhD graduate from the top engineering school of Portugal, I had the chance to develop critical thinking to formulate the right questions (difficult part) and plan accordingly to find the answer to those questions (easy part). This has helped me to surpass most of the challenges I had at different sectors from classical engineering companies, working as an innovation project manager in European projects, and now unfolding the path at the newly created, but booming green hydrogen sector at Fusion Fuel. For all those reasons, I fully endorse IST as an amazing school to pursue your PhD studies, where you will find a school that will provide a great scientific training, but you will also find a group of scholars (from the PhD colleagues to the full Professors) that will not only support your scientific development, but also have a social drink with you at the end of the day."
David Ferràs
Current job: Senior lecturer/researcher in water supply engineering at IHE Delft (The Netherlands)
It has been around 6 years that I finished my PhD under a Joint Doctoral Programme in Hydraulics and Hydrology between IST (Lisbon) and EPFL (Lausanne). I have so many good memories about the two years I spent in Portugal! It is difficult to describe in a short paragraph all the good moments I had with regard to the life in Lisbon, the road trips in the Portuguese landscapes, the work at IST and the good colleagues and friends I got to know there. Personally, I felt very comfortable. The context to develop my PhD research in terms of supervision, research group and lab facilities were ideal. I feel saudade!
Marco Ivo Frazão Pedroso
Current job: Head of Sustainability at BUILT CoLAB - The Collaborative Laboratory for the Built Environment of the Future (www.builtcolab.pt)
All my academic life is strongly connected to the DECivil Department of Técnico Lisboa since this is the place where I got all my Academic Degrees (from my 5-year Degree to my PhD). When I look back to the end of my PhD, many good memories come to mind, such as my participation in an R&D project with Saint-Gobain Weber, discussions held with different professors (especially with my supervisors that turned into friends) and colleagues that helped to look at the same problem from a different perspective, but also all the technical collaborators that were always available to help when any difficulty appeared at the laboratory.
The time spent at Técnico improved my technical knowledge at various levels (developing and analysing aerogel-based thermal insulating render formulations, and conducting Life Cycle Assessments, among others), but it also made me acquire different capabilities that support its real-world application, such as resilience, critical thinking, and organizational skills that are essential in my current job position. Considering all these reasons, the DECivil is the right place to develop your studies at the different Academic levels, since it has all the equipment, infrastructures, and above all, the right people that can support you to achieve your objectives while preparing you for all the challenges that lie ahead.
Degrees: 5-year Degree in Territorial Engineering (IST); Advanced Training Diploma in Acoustic Engineering (IST); MSc in Construction and Rehabilitation (IST); PhD in Civil Engineering (IST)