Artificial intelligence models, data analysis, and machine learning systems were highlighted in a session that brought together five students from Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, finalists in the 4th edition of the Celfocus Merit Award in Machine Learning, held on 21 April. During the session, the students presented the projects developed as part of the Machine Learning Curricular Unit. This exercise challenged them “to demonstrate their technical skills and ability to communicate complex solutions to both an academic and business jury”.
Diego Castañeda, Henrique Simões, and João Guilherme, students in the Master’s Programme in Electrical and Computer Engineering; Leonor Gonçalves, a student in the Master’s Programme in Engineering Physics; and Tomás Miguel, a student attending both programmes, were the finalists selected for the 2025/2026 edition of the Award.
“I want to congratulate the five students here on their own merit”, said Nuno Horta, the Head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (DEEC) and a member of the jury, which also included Alexandre Bernardino, senior lecturer of the curricular unit, and Bruno Ribeiro, a data scientist at Celfocus. Alexandre Bernardino also highlighted the finalists’ academic performance and the rigour of the evaluation process. “The selection is purely based on your grades, which reflect your performance. I am very pleased to have students like you”, he noted, adding that Celfocus’s support “has been very important”.
The initiative is the result of a collaboration between Técnico and Celfocus, a member of the Técnico Partner Network, and aims to recognise students’ academic merit in the field of Machine Learning through exposure to the business context. In this regard, Bruno Ribeiro highlighted the importance of the partnership with Técnico and expressed his “eagerness” for the finalists’ presentations.
The Celfocus Merit Award in Machine Learning is presented annually to the top student in the curricular unit. The winner of the 2025/2026 award will be announced at the Merit Awards ceremony, scheduled for 2 July.
