The Técnico student João Afonso was the winner of the Celfocus Merit Award in Machine Learning 2023/2024, worth €1325. The award ceremony took place on March 12, in the meeting room of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (DEEC), at Técnico – Alameda campus.
The president of Técnico, Rogério Colaço, stressed the importance of these initiatives in recognising the excellence of Técnico students: “We have the privilege of dealing with an elite group”, he said, thanking Celfocus for the partnership.
Isabel Dias, vice-president of Técnico for Financial Management, emphasised the importance of this partnership: “It’s important for us to have a technological partner like Celfocus”. Luís Carlos Santos, Head of Data Science at Celfocus, shared his satisfaction at participating in the event. “I would like to stress the importance of the link between business and academia. This type of initiative is crucial because it allows students to come up with ideas that solve problems in the real world”.
António Sobral, a Master’s student in Biomedical Engineering, Dinis Corte Real and João Afonso, both Master’s students in Data Science and Engineering, Diogo Aguiar, a Master’s student in Engineering Physics, and Tiago Brogueira, a Master’s student in Electrical and Computer Engineering, were the five award finalists. The five students had the opportunity to pitch their work and answer the jury’s questions.
The initiative also included a donation to improve teaching and learning conditions of the Machine Learning curricular unit, awarded to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (DEEC), worth €883. José Santos-Victor, Head of DEEC, thanked the donation and congratulated the students. “I’m very proud of everything I’ve just seen. The ability that you have to motivate yourselves to solve problems is inspiring. It makes me happy to know that after graduation you will transform companies like Celfocus and change society. I’d also like to thank the professors of this curricular unit and the Corporate Partnerships Unit for organising this initiative”, he highlighted.
