The master’s thesis ‘Ultra-Compact Sigma-Delta Modulator for Organ-on-Chip Systems’, pursued by Fábio Dias, a student of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Instituto Superior Técnico, was awarded third place in the Master’s Thesis Award – Fraunhofer Portugal Challenge 2025. Together with his supervisors Jorge Fernandes, professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering, and Diogo Caetano, researcher at the Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores – Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias (INESC-MN), the student developed organ-on-chip technologies. These devices replicate the conditions of human organs and can be used to test drugs or medicines, avoiding adverse reactions after their administration. Additionally, this technology also aims to reduce animal testing and its associated costs.
First place in the Master’s Thesis Award category went to Lara Sá Neves, who pursued her thesis at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP). She is currently pursuing a PhD under the partnership programme between Instituto Superior Técnico and Carnegie Mellon University. The student presented iHOMER, an algorithm capable of learning, reorganising information and adjusting classifications in real time, ensuring understanding and accuracy even in complex scenarios.
The competition has two categories: the Master’s Thesis Award, which rewards the best ideas based on academic theses, and the Student Award, which honours the student with the most promising technological idea. Projects submitted to the competition must fall within the scientific areas of Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS (FhP-AICOS): User-Centred Design, Artificial Intelligence and Cyber-Physical Systems.
The Master Thesis Award category distributed, exceptionally in 2025, a total of €8,000 among the four highest-ranked projects, while the Student Award category awarded €3,000 and specialised mentoring.
The 16th edition of the Fraunhofer Portugal Challenge took place on 5 November in the FhP-AICOS auditorium in Porto. The event brought together finalists, researchers, entrepreneurs and academic representatives to celebrate scientific innovation with an impact on society.
