The Research and Teaching Assessment Council (CAIE) at Instituto Superior Técnico held its first meeting on December 17, 2025, in the Interdisciplinary Building, at Alameda Campus. The session marked the beginning of preparatory work for the 3rd cycle of research and teaching assessment at Instituto Superior Técnico, including coordination with the visiting committees.

This process falls under the provisions of the Bylaws of Instituto Superior Técnico, which establish an institutional mechanism for assessing research and teaching activities based on the organisation of visiting committees, with the aim of defining quality standards, stimulating productive work, identifying bottlenecks and inefficiencies, and proposing improvements.

The School Council is responsible for appointing visiting committees, regulating their operations, determining the frequency of their evaluations, and establishing the general principles concerning their composition, organisation of visits, and the production of respective reports.

The CAIE operates under the supervision of the School Council and is chaired by Isabel Ribeiro, retired professor and distinguished professor at Técnico and researcher at the Institute for Systems and Robotics (ISR). It is composed of members Carlos Mineiro Aires and Helena Pereira – Técnico alumni – and also includes professors Miguel Abreu, and Paulo Ferrão. This committee shall serve a four-year term.

In the initial phase, CAIE will work on defining the methodology, schedule, and organisation of the process, including guidelines and procedures for coordination with the visiting committees, in order to ensure structured and participatory development.

According to Article 23 of the Bylaws of Instituto Superior Técnico, this evaluation process relies on the organisation of these visiting committees and is regulated by the School Council.