The Opening Ceremony of the Academic Year 2016/2017 at ULisboa took place this Thursday. This year, the ULisboa award was delivered to professor Jorge Calado, who became Emeritus professor of Instituto Superior Técnico last year.

According to professor Manuel Nunes da Ponte, who was chosen to praise the winner, “Jorge Calado is the Renaissance man”. He also highlighted professor Jorge Calado’s scientific and cultural intervention “Jorge Calado influenced and inspired many of us.”

The jury, chaired by the rector of Universidade de Lisboa, professor António Cruz Serra, granted this award to professor Jorge Calado for his “contributions as a scientist, professor and disseminator of science, but also for his cultural intervention, namely in the fields of music and photography criticism”.

The Emeritus Professor took the opportunity to thank the Universidade de Lisboa and all people who helped him to stand where he is today. “I never planned anything in my life, I simply took advantage of the opportunities and I think I had much luck (…).My biggest luck was to have lived and worked with people much better than me”, he said.

Professor António Cruz Serra, rector of ULisboa, closed the session, welcoming the 7500 new students. “Congratulations to all of you on your effort. Congratulations to have joined ULisboa. You made a good choice.”

The rector took the opportunity to congratulate engineer António Guterres on his election as Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), “It is a great pride and satisfaction. Universidade de Lisboa rejoices over his election.”