Margarida Aires de Abreu is the winner of the 2023 Master’s Award delivered by the Portuguese Association of Industrial Engineering and Management (APGEI). In November she completed a Master’s Programme in Industrial Engineering and Management at Instituto Superior Técnico with a remarkable grade (19 out of 20), and her thesis “Bi-Objective Districting and Routing Problems: A Comparison of Models” with 20. Shortly after completing her dissertation, the alumna learnt that she had won the APGEI Master’s Award.

“Técnico played a fundamental role in my academic performance”, explains Margarida. “I would highlight the availability of professors, namely my supervisors José Figueira and Daniel Santos, who were always keen to support, which undoubtedly made all the difference”, she added. His thesis focused on the optimisation of transport systems and complex logistics operations, which allows companies to deliver goods efficiently on a global scale, resulting in reduced costs and improved service levels.

In addition to her academic success, Margarida Aires de Abreu has succeeded in her professional field – she started to teach at Técnico, and in January she started working as a software engineer at a public transport company. She believes that “the enriching” experience she had at Técnico as a student gave her a “decisive” preparation for her professional career, enabling her to “deal with challenges, including stressful situations and adversity”.

The APGEI Master’s Award is aimed at Industrial Engineering and Management recent MSc graduates from Portuguese universities who have been selected by their course coordinators. This award includes funding for two APGEI training activities and the offer of two annual membership fees.