The 8th edition of the PhD Open Days took place at Técnico – Alameda campus, from 14th to 16th November. Several Técnico PhD students had the opportunity to participate in pitch competitions, show their work in poster exhibitions, acquire and improve skills in the workshops, and understand how failure can lead to success.
Different topics were covered during these days. At the welcome session, held on Monday morning, the Chair of Técnico’s Ethics Committee, Mário Gaspar da Silva, recalled “the end doesn’t justify the means”. The “PhD with the Industry” session took place in the early afternoon. The Vice-President of Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Francisco C. Santos, stressed that FCT supports PhD programmes outside Academia.
The corporate paradigm change regarding the recruitment of PhD graduates was the central topic of a session with the PhD alumni Duarte Dinis, João Delgado and Sara Badenes, moderated by professor Miguel Ayala Botto, Vice-President of the IST Scientific Council.
The Out of the Box Session: “Fail! Inspiring resilience”, held on Tuesday afternoon, focused on understanding how failure leads to success. Listening to successful people talk about their failures was the motto of the session. “Please fail, and come back in 40 years to tell us about it”, said José Tribolet, Técnico Distinguished Full Professor (retired).
Nine workshops took place on the third day, covering topics such as social media, science communication for researchers, intellectual property or preparing a presentation, among others.
