The bells are ringing in the corridors and common playgrounds of Azambuja Secondary School. It’s the first warning to all students that it’s time to enter their classrooms. Rogério Colaço, the current president of Instituto Superior Técnico and a former student at the school, is in one of these corridors. He has travelled back in time through his memories until he is old enough and big enough to pass under some stairs without stooping. Time has passed. He’s grown up. 38 years after finishing secondary school, he returns to his School to give a lecture on nanotechnology to the current science and technology students (and their teachers), linking the subject with ChatGPT. The invitation came from a former secondary school classmate and current Physics and Chemistry teacher at the School, Paula Almeida. ‘I remember [after finishing secondary school] thinking that one day I’d like to come back here and talk about what I’d learnt out of here,’ recalls Rogério Colaço. That day has come: on 3 December 2024, the School’s auditorium filled up to hear him share his experience as a professor and a researcher at Técnico and to witness what he considers to be a teacher’s main mission: ‘to inspire students to enjoy doing something and to go beyond the classroom walls’. The lecture focused on the technological differences between the world of 1986 and that of 2024, a real revolution witnessed by Rogério Colaço: the first computer he used at university ‘weighed a tonne and had less memory capacity than the mobile phones we have in our pockets today’. ‘In 40 years, a technological system has shrunk 10,000 times in size and increased a thousand times in memory,’ he added. The scientific journey began with Richard Feynman’s quote ‘There’s plenty of room at the bottom’, summarising nanotechnology as a new field of knowledge.
That morning, on the way from Lisbon to Azambuja, Rogério Colaço also delved into his memories [see interview following this article]: the farm without electricity where he grew up, the rural world of endless games, fishing in the Tagus river, snooker games at ‘O Cortiço’ and his day-to-day life at the school, which included ‘going to class in the morning and then playing a good football game’ (which also included a goalkeeper dive that ended in a trip to the hospital and arrival at home by ambulance); and also the reasons why he was a good student: ‘What worked for me was that I liked going to school’. But there was more: ‘A very young teaching staff, of great quality, people who had graduated after the April 25th revolution and who dreamt of teaching the kids of that time differently, exposing them to culture, arts, and science.’
Today, in the school’s corridors there is a great deal of excitement about the visit and the compliments are reciprocated. ‘I’m going to talk about you at the town hall meeting [where he was heading] as a person we’re proud of,’ shared José Paulo Pereira, a teacher at the school, Técnico alumnus and Azambuja town councillor. ‘It’s a privilege to have people with us today who are heard all over the world, greeted with honours in universities all over the world, people who make a difference and can change your life by sharing their experiences,’ said the school’s headmaster, Madalena Tavares, before the lecture began, also thinking of Rogério Colaço as “a son of this house”. Indeed, both at the school and on the streets of Azambuja, the president of Técnico feels truly at home. In the town, he still meets many people who have known him ‘since I was a kid’. ‘They know my parents, my grandparents, who were from here, they treat me as they always have. It’s always good to have a place where, when you go back, you’re the same person you’ve always been,’ he says. As for schools, ‘they’re our homes that mark us for life,’ he says. The return to Azambuja Secondary School ended with a general round of applause from the students, some of whom were children of Rogério Colaço’s former schoolmates, and with a feeling of accomplishment after 1.5 hours in that classroom. ‘It took me 38 years to fulfil this dream. It was fulfilled today’.
“The main mission of a teacher is to inspire students to enjoy doing something and to go beyond the classroom walls”
Full interview with Rogério Colaço (recorded while travelling between Lisbon and Azambuja, on the way to Azambuja Secondary School)
We’re with the president of Instituto Superior Técnico, professor Rogério Colaço, on our way to Azambuja. What are we going to do there?
Rogério Colaço (RC): I received an invitation from the teachers of Azambuja school, where I did all my secondary education, to come and give a lecture to the students. I’m returning to Azambuja 38 years after I left as a secondary school student.
And what does this return mean to you? Have you been back in these circumstances before?
RC: This is the first time I am back in these circumstances. A few years ago, maybe 10 or 15 years ago, when social media started and people met up again, there was a lunch for the Azambuja School former students, which I attended, but it was in a completely different context, it was a get-together. Now, they’ve invited me to talk to current secondary school students about what I do as a professor and researcher. And that’s what I’m going to do.
I remember, now that I think about it, that when I left the Azambuja School and joined Técnico – I left the Azambuja School and went straight to Técnico in 1986 – thinking that one day I’d like to come back and talk about what I’ve learnt out of here.
What are your memories of secondary school?
RC: In the 1980s, Azambuja Secondary School was a very special place. The memories of all the people who passed through there, and the people I’ve met in the meantime, are all very rewarding. I joined the school in 1980 and left in ’86. Those 80s were absolutely transformative years for the students of this school.
There was a very young, high-quality teaching staff, people who had graduated after the April 25th Revolution and who dreamt of teaching the kids of that time differently, exposing them to culture, arts, and science. There were lots of initiatives, poetry competitions, matinees with the famous 80s music, maths olympiad and, at the same time, there was a great deal of involvement in politics.
Those were the days after April 25th. There were still some remnants of November 25th, of PREC [acronym for Revolutionary Process in Progress]. There was a clear division in the school. Some people were left-wing and other right-wing, and this melting pot was very enriching. The memories of Azambuja Secondary School are very rewarding for all the former students, at least during that period.
And how did Técnico come about? Was there a Técnico president or a professor who visited the school at that time?
RC: No, no. I had a good friend who was a year older than me and was studying at the Colégio Militar (Military College) who persuaded me to become an engineer. He wanted to be an engineer and joined Técnico a year before me, in 1985. So, we made a sort of pact, an agreement, that we would be engineers and go to Técnico, and so we both went. And that’s the reason for my choice. Sometimes choices that mark people’s lives, such as career choices, aren’t made with great conviction or depth because when people make these choices they’re still very young. It’s as simple as a friend saying it’ll be interesting, it might be nice, let’s give it a try and that’s it, and here I am a few decades later, with my choice made, and that’s what my life has been about.
But did you already have a preference for science topics in secondary school? What do you find most inspiring about this school?
RC: I’m going to talk a little about the Azambuja School and use it as an example for other schools. I think that the secondary school phase, and even the years leading up to it, the 7th, 8th and 9th grades, are crucial in shaping how young people approach their education, and things generally don’t go so-so, they either go well or bad. What went well for me and for many of my friends and colleagues at Azambuja Secondary School, but I’m sure this happens in many other schools, was that I liked going to school. Maybe for other reasons than learning. Enjoying going to school can determine whether educational experiences go well or not. I often remember being 14 or 15 years old, going to bed thinking ‘I hope the night passes quickly so that tomorrow I can go to school to play, be with my friends, work on projects, and learn as well’.
The Azambuja school worked very well. It was a very cosy place, a second home, and a place with a well-thought-out and well-structured pedagogical project, with very young and very committed teachers.
I was always a very good student. The subjects I really enjoyed, my favourites, were Physics, Maths and Chemistry, so the path ended up being a bit natural. In secondary school, I chose the scientific area and some friends told me about Técnico, which ended up being my choice.
What was Rogério Colaço student like back then? What was a normal day for the secondary school student?
RC: I must say that I was somewhat lucky because I was born with a very good visual memory. And what does that mean? It means that until I came to Técnico I didn’t need to study very much. I had some ability to memorise things and analytical reasoning that helped me a lot. I must say that the student Rogério Colaço, until he was 17 years old, didn’t like studying very much. Studying wasn’t one of the most attractive things to do in life. So, a normal day for me as a student was arriving at school, going to morning classes, then playing a good football game, sometimes going to the canteen – food wasn’t particularly important to me and my friends – and then spending the afternoon at a place that I think still exists, the ‘O Cortiço’, a cafe in front of the school, to play snooker. The famous snooker championships – also a classic of the 80s. Then we’d hang out a bit with our friends, in the weekend afternoons we went to matinees in two discos in Vila Franca de Xira and Carregado. This was when we were 15 or 16 years old before we were allowed to go to the real discos.
Do you still take this route we’re taking often? [interview recorded on the A1 highway between Lisbon and Azambuja] Do you still have many connections in this region?
RC: I do have many connections. My mother still lives in her house where I lived when I was studying in Azambuja. I come here often, almost every weekend and sometimes during the week. I often come to the neighbourhood where I used to live, which isn’t in Azambuja, but it’s in the municipality of Alenquer. I have some close friends who are from here. Many of them are no longer here. Many people from my generation have (e)migrated, either abroad or to Lisbon, essentially, but we maintain a relationship. We meet up sometimes in the summer.
There’s a very typical meeting for many of us, which is the Azambuja May Fair, a very typical fair here in this part of Ribatejo. So, the answer is yes, I maintain some connections, even though people’s lives have diversified a lot in the meantime and they have, let’s say, moved away from the centre of Azambuja. The person who invited me was a former classmate of mine at Azambuja School, Paula Almeida who is now a teacher here and who, some time ago, challenged me to come and speak to the students.
Did you also take part in bullfights and events of that kind?
RC: Yes, I even got hit in the back by a bull, which still hurts to this day. The bullfights lasted three days. It’s three days of festivities and was a fantastic time for all the kids. For those who were younger it was a time when they could stay up late because of the festivities. Some people didn’t sleep in those nights: Bullfights finish later on Friday and people stayed until late in the taverns. That was the perfect excuse to have a big night out because parents also participated in the festivities. The Azambuja fair was, in fact, a moment that marked this generation of the 80s and I think it still does today. When we go to the Azambuja May Fair there are lots of young people socialising and celebrating.
Do you still come to the Fair?
RC: Yes, I still do. I don’t come every year, but I come many times, especially when we make arrangements with friends.
How do you feel about the relationship with people here? There’s a story about you being recognised recently and approached in the street because you were seen in an interview, is that true?
RC: Yes, several people had lost track of me. Occasionally they see me in interviews or in the media and contact me again. The approaches in the street, I mean, they’re a little more frequent. The fact that I’m president of Técnico gives me some visibility. People end up recognising me and some of them associate my image today with my image 40 years ago, which is a little different, but they treat me the same way [as they did 40 years ago].
When we leave a place that is our home and where we grew up, when we return, we are treated as we always were, as local people. And that’s very comforting. It’s always good to have a place where, when you go back, you’re the same person you’ve always been. As we get older, the older people disappear and become less frequent, but I still meet many people who have known me since I was a kid, who know my parents, my grandparents, who were from here, and treat me as they always have. Sometimes they ask me how things are going and try to understand more about what I do. This is my home, I belong here.
Are there still many safe memory spaces here?
RC: Yes, there are, even though the region has changed a lot. My grandfather had a farm nearby, in the municipality of Alenquer, in the part that abuts the municipality of Azambuja. That’s why I went to secondary schools in Alenquer and Azambuja. I started school in Alenquer and then moved house. My parents built a new house that was closer to the municipality of Azambuja and it was easier to go to secondary school because of the transport available.
Anyway, my family was well known in Alenquer, Azambuja and Carregado. My grandfather had a farm, he was very well known in this region and there are still many people from that time who remember me as a child and often took me to school because transport was more difficult here. Many people from that time sometimes meet my mother and say: ‘Oh, I’ve seen your son but I don’t remember where’. There’s this proximity.
Do you think that your story can inspire young people? Do you think that someone who listens to this interview can be inspired and perhaps become, for example, president of Técnico in the future?
RC: That might be too ambitious and I’m not very ambitious when it comes to the impact I have on other people. Having said that, of the many things I’ve done in my life, the one I might have enjoyed and continue to enjoy the most is teaching.
The role of a teacher is not and never has been just to transmit knowledge. For many years knowledge has existed in books or other sources, and nowadays there are many different sources. Therefore, the teacher’s role is essentially to structure knowledge and be a source of inspiration.
Going back to the Azambuja School, although I was a science student, the teacher who most inspired me and many other people of my generation, in science and humanities, was a philosophy teacher, who has now passed away, professor José Luís Marques, who was an absolutely charismatic person. He talked to those kids who lived here about things they didn’t know but could get to know: political or philosophical thoughts, travelling, music, discussing who we were, who we wanted to be, what our role was in the world we lived in. You see, in the 1980s it wasn’t as easy to find out what it was like to live in Tokyo or in a distant country. Information was much more contained and less accessible to everyone. And José Luis Marques really had this ability to inspire us to think, to want to know more. And that’s what I think is a teacher’s main mission: to inspire students to enjoy doing something and to go beyond the classroom walls.’
What message would you like to leave these young people?
RC: Today I’ve been asked to talk about one of my research areas from the past 20 years, which is nanotechnology and nanostructured materials, and how this has led us to the moment we’re living in with the democratisation of access to artificial intelligence. All this happened in less than 40 years. I will be speaking to an audience of secondary school students and my goal is to inspire two or three of them – ideally even more – to find this topic interesting and considering deepening their knowledge in the future. That’s my mission in Azambuja today.
