Hugo Plácido da Silva, a professor at Instituto Superior Técnico and a researcher at Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT), has been elevated to Councilor Member (CM) by Ordem dos Engenheiros (OE), becoming the first CM of the Biomedical and Bioengineering College. The appointment ‘reinforces the high level and degree of maturity with which the OE’s Biomedical and Bioengineering College has been, and is being, conducted’ he argues.

Considering Hugo Plácido’s training in Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering, this appointment exemplifies ‘the multidisciplinary nature and integrating spirit that characterises the field of biomedical and bioengineering’.

With this ‘new status’, the professor hopes to ‘make an even greater contribution to the affirmation and prestige of Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering, both nationally and internationally’.

‘The involvement of members with a more senior profile is decisive for giving the college a vigorous boost, benefiting from their experience, technical-scientific knowledge and network of contacts,’ he adds.

He concludes: ‘the fact that I am the first Councillor Member of the Biomedical and Bioengineering College is particularly special, as it has helped me develop my talents to levels that I could not have imagined in my wildest dreams, and it is also a great responsibility, as I am paving the way for current and future colleagues.’

The title of Councillor Member is awarded based on an independent peer review to members with a relevant professional and cultural curriculum.

On 8 February 2024, the Técnico professor had been part of the Installation Committee for the Biomedical and Bioengineering College.

In the same month, Hugo Plácido da Silva was the first Portuguese to receive the Entrepreneurship Impact Award 2023, which “recognises an individual who has had a significant impact on the engineering-driven entrepreneurial ecosystem”.