“I solemnly declare that I will fulfil the duties entrusted to me with respect for the duties arising from the Constitution and the Law”. The scratch of a pen sketching a signature on paper and then a round of applause from a crowded auditorium.
Rogério Colaço took office as re-elected president of Instituto Superior Técnico on the morning of 3rd January at Técnico Congress Centre, Alameda Campus. Accompanying the sole candidate, each Vice-President made the same declaration minutes later, sequentially and with their respective signatures.
In addition to Rogério Colaço, the following Governing Board members took office at the ceremony:
- Vice-President for Financial Management – Maria Isabel Marques Dias;
- Vice-President for Sustainability and Infrastructures – Miguel Amado;
- Vice-President for Digital Technologies – Alexandre Francisco;
- Vice-President for Academic Affairs – Francisco Melo;
- Vice-President for International Affairs – Zita Martins;
- Vice-President for Corporate Interface, Innovation and Entrepreneurship – Pedro Amaral;
- Vice-President for Taguspark Campus – Joana Mendonça;
- Vice-President for CTN Campus – Susana Marta Almeida;
- Vice-President for Quality, Planning, Operations and Health – Jorge Morgado;
- Executive Director – Nuno Brito Pedroso.
“This speech has a double meaning”, said Rogério Colaço, “because it marks the end of a cycle and the beginning of a new one”. The president argued that his last term in office “had complex challenges” and “important achievements for the future of Técnico”, emphasising that the School, as a whole, had regained “the ability to believe anything is possible”, which is “the starting point for the mandate that is now beginning”.
The president thanked various members of the Técnico community. About the students, he said “they were an example of talent, serenity, common sense, capacity for work and resilience”. “They were my first concern”, but also “my support and hope”. He thanked former students, professors, researchers, technical and administrative staff “who are dedicated to Técnico and their work every day”. He also expressed his gratitude for the people he worked with during the previous term, highlighting previous vice-presidents and members of the School, Scientific and Pedagogical Councils.
Rogério Colaço said that in these four years he has realised “the importance that Técnico has for the country as an institution that trains talent and creates knowledge and value” and that this mission becomes impossible to fulfil “without an open, strong and articulated relationship with our partners”.
The School’s duty then becomes “the driving force behind the university, making it a stronger, more cohesive, more internationalised institution with a greater impact on the country”. The first commitment he made was to “continue working to make this a reality”. Some future goals he highlighted were the improvement of the pedagogical, study, learning and living conditions offered to the school’s community; promoting sustainability on Técnico campi, continuing the investment in solar panels that has already begun; removing cars from the Alameda campus; attracting student talent, particularly 2nd cycle students; preparing for the changes in teaching brought about by artificial intelligence; and, in collaboration with the local authority, transforming the area around Alameda campus “into an innovation district capable of projecting the city in the country and the world”.
In a speech that kicked off the ceremony, Luís Oliveira e Silva, president of the School Council, recalled “the commitment that the president-elect made to the entire community” through his candidacy programme, and “above all, the legacy that it is now up to him to continue to ensure and increase”. Referring to the times of the ‘I Governo Provisório’ (First Provisional Government), he recalled the reforms of the then Minister of Development, Brito Camacho, to solve what Charles Lepierre, a professor at Técnico at the time, described as a climate of “much is taught, little is learnt”, drawing laughter from the audience.
Luís Oliveira e Silva stressed the three key points of Rogério Colaço’s candidacy programme – improving the learning experience “to improve the academic success and the well-being of students”, investing in its campi “by modernising them” and broadening the social impact by “strengthening relations with the community, alumni, industry and partners”.
Luís Ferreira, rector of Universidade de Lisboa emphasised the “important moment, full of symbolism” of the ceremony. He also thanked the Governing Board in office during the previous term, saying “it was always very easy to work with Técnico”. “This is how a university is made,” he added.
The ceremony was Broadcast live on Técnico’s YouTube channel and can be watched here:
