The Graduation Day at Alameda campus took place on May 27. About 250 students who completed MSc degree in 2015/16 and PhD degree in 2016, at Instituto Superior Técnico, attended the ceremony and received a diploma.
The ceremony took place at Salão Nobre. Families and friends of the graduates, as well as professors, were present at this event. According to the president of Técnico, who opened the session, “I am sure that for many of you Técnico was a school of life. You were boys and girls when you entered Técnico, now you are men and women”.
During his speech, professor Arlindo Oliveira pointed out Técnico alumni key skills: the ability to think and reason, the capacity to handle complex problems adequately and the academic experiences. “Técnico prepared you to face an increasingly competitive society”, he said. The president of Técnico challenged the alumni: “Use these skills to improve our country, Europe and the world”.
Ana Cláudia Sá, General Manager at Bel Portugal and Técnico alumna, shared her experience noting that “the deep technical skills”, “the working capacity” and “the reasoning skills” acquired at Técnico were very important. According to the alumna “anytime I have a problem I remember what I learnt at Técnico and I know I can solve it”. “Anyone who studies at Técnico learns how to become a conqueror and this remains with us the whole life”, she noted.
The Vice-rector of Universidade de Lisboa, professor António Feijó, closed the session noting the importance of such events: “this is probably the most important ceremony of Técnico’s academic calendar and this is certainly the most moving”. The Vice-rector advised the graduates to celebrate this victory because this diploma “proves that you did something great.”
At the end of the ceremony, Maria João Tavares, recent graduate in Biological Engineering shares her “almost complete sense of accomplishment”. Maria João recalled a journey with many ups and downs that “allowed me to solve the problems and unlikely situations”. Visibly moved, she confessed: “I am already missing Técnico”.
