The Técnico alumnus Tomás Neves de Almeida (Industrial Engineering and Management) was one of the winners (ex-aequo) of the APGEI Master’s Award, established by the Portuguese Association of Industrial Engineering and Management (APGEI), which honours recent Industrial Engineering and Management MSc graduates .
“This award comes as a result of many hours of work and commitment during the 5 years I spent at Técnico”, says Tomás Neves de Almeida. “I would like to thank my professors and colleagues for motivating me and for challenging me to think further”, he adds.
“The final grades have been of great importance as well as my involvement as a student. Attending classes, developing projects, participating in the activities organised by the student groups, have also contributed to winning this award”, highlights Tomás Neves de Almeida. “I have always tried to be very active, to stimulate discussions and exchange of ideas, as I believe that this is the only way to develop critical thinking. I think that my thesis has positively influenced the jury’s decision, as it focuses on industrial organisation, which is a topic that is not covered much in the course”, he points out.
Tomás Neves de Almeida completed his degree less than a year ago and now he is working at Quiteamind. The young engineer shares his feelings: “When we enter the job market we face a lot of new challenges, which are quite different from those we have faced at the university. As such, the beginning is always very challenging, as we have to learn a lot of information in a short period of time. This award is undoubtedly an important boost, as it reminds me of all challenges I had to overcome as a Técnico student and gives me more confidence for the future”.
“I always thought that the combination of engineering and management skills would be particularly valuable”, recalls Tomás Neves de Almeida, who 5 years ago got into Técnico to study Industrial Engineering and Management. Today, he is sure he made the right decision. “I think that the critical thinking and the autonomous learning skills I have developed at Técnico will be crucial to my future”, he stresses. “It is also important to highlight the teaching staff, who have always been very helpful and have always done their best to ensure that students get the most out of it. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their support and I hope they continue to invest in students’ education”, adds the alumnus.
The APGEI Master’s Award honours one Industrial Engineering and Management graduate from Portuguese universities that offer an Industrial Engineering and Management degree. The APGEI award aims to contribute to the specialised training of recent MSc graduates in Industrial Engineering and Management, and to ensure their effective integration into the job market.
The selection of graduates applying for the award is the responsibility of the coordination of the Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Management of each University, or the management body responsible for the Master’s degree. The FEUP alumna Inês Ribeiro was also awarded.
Founded in 1985 by a group of companies and universities, APGEI is a non-profit organisation that aims to strengthen the link between universities and companies, and whose mission is to contribute to the improvement of management practices in the business community and to the development of the country.
