Last Thursday, engineers Luís Mira da Silva, Clemente Pedro Nunes and Luís Todo Bom participated in a round table on the past, present and future of EGI, which marked the end of EGI Seminar Series.
For more than one hour, the three Técnico alumni spoke about the importance of EGI for Portuguese companies and how Técnico can make the difference. According to Luís Todo Bom “EGI graduates will face a welcoming job market. Don’t worry about that, the job market is waiting for you”.
“The common engineer career path starts with an engineering job and then evolves to management and economics jobs. This course will provide you with technical training that will be very important for your future. The economics and management components of the course will be useful for you if you get a job within these areas”, explained Luís Mira Amaral. “I think this is one of the most comprehensive courses offered at Portuguese universities. It is a comprehensive and extensive course”, he said.
Clemente Pedro Nunes recalled that the course was created because, at the time, a new framework for engineering and industrial production was needed. “It was necessary to provide engineers with technical skills that might be applied to industry. I am very proud of being one of the founders of EGI course.”
The session moderated by professors Rui Baptista (president of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management ) and Ana Póvoa was attended by many students who expressed their concern about some “problems” that may exist in the curriculum.
“You will leave Técnico ready to be a production manager or an operations manager – and not a finance manager or a marketing manager”, said Luís Todo Bom. Clemente Nunes took the opportunity to add that EGI students “must have a high capacity for synthesis and have clear strategies”. “The future is always a challenge.”
Técnico is a leading school regarding the training of “these students who want to be engineers but, in the future, might become managers”: “The theoretical preparation of this course has no parallel in any Portuguese university”, said Luís Todo Bom.
A short closing session followed the round table. Professor Rui Baptista thanked all people involved in the organisation of EGI seminar series. “I hope that you stay motivated as until now”.
Filipa Almeida, presidente of EGI student group, took the opportunity to thank “all those who made this event possible” and explained the model “learn – do – connect” behind EGI seminar series: “We wanted to give you the opportunity to learn, to put in practice your knowledge and to share your experiences”.
EGI Seminar Series are organised by NEEGI and are part of the IST Career Weeks – which aim to help students plan their careers. The main goal of this event is to bring together students, alumni, faculty, companies and professionals with a link to Industrial Engineering and Management (EGI), to share experiences and networking.
