The Técnico alumnus Pedro de Faria was recently appointed Full Professor at the University of Groningen, where he teaches since 2009. “I am very happy with this appointment. It is a very important step in my career at the University of Groningen”, says the alumnus.
Pedro de Faria has a BS in Environmental Engineering, completed a MSc in Engineering Policy and Management of Technology (2004) and a PhD in Engineering and Industrial Management (2008). From 2002 to 2009, professor Pedro de Faria developed research at IN + (Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research at IST), in the area of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Pedro de Faria decided to discover the professional options in northern Europe after finishing his PhD. “I found one of the most attractive positions at the University of Groningen. At the time, the university was reorganizing the Department of Innovation Management & Strategy. I applied in the spring of 2009, I was selected and ended up moving with my family in the summer of the same year”, he recalls.
Pedro de Faria’s research work is focused in the area of Innovation Management and Strategy, and the work he has developed focuses on understanding how companies develop their knowledge management and knowledge acquisition strategies.
The Técnico alumnus started to become interested in this area in the last year of his BS in Environmental Engineering. “We had very stimulating discussions in Environmental Economics, namely on how innovation could solve environmental problems. This influenced me to choose the topic of my thesis”, recalls the professor. After completing his thesis and worked for a year in the design and implementation of a survey at the Observatory for Science and Technology, Pedro de Faria decided to return to Técnico and attend a MSc in Engineering Policy and Management of Technology. “At the end of this master’s degree, I was offered a PhD position in Engineering and Industrial Management to develop a thesis in innovation management at IN + research center, which definitely marked my academic journey in terms of area of specialisation”, he points out.
According to the Técnico alumnus, the position of Full Professor represents an honour and “the beginning of a very important and challenging phase”. “A full professor has the added responsibility to develop a specific research area, to supervise colleagues and PhD students, and to obtain funding that allows to expand important knowledge networks on a global scale”, he adds.
“Técnico gave me the skills that helped me evolve as a university professor. The interactions with my MSc and PhD supervisors, professors Pedro Conceição and Francisco Lima, respectively, were decisive”, says the Técnico alumnus.
