On 21 January, Instituto Superior Técnico hosted the sixth edition of the BCG ‘Best in Class’ Academic Merit Award. This award is an initiative carried out in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) that aims to recognise the excellence of Técnico’s engineering students and promote the link between academia and the business world.
Rogério Colaço, president of Técnico, emphasised the importance of this collaboration and thanked BCG. ‘More than our partners, you are our friends’, shared the professor, also highlighting the “close relationship” with the company as “fundamental”, and congratulating the students awarded.
João Vargas, an Aerospace Engineering undergraduate student, was the winner of this edition and received a cash prize of 1600 euros. ‘I’d like to thank BCG for this honour, which is a motivation to continue striving for excellence in everything I do’, he said, adding that ’I’d also like to thank [his] professors and colleagues, without whom I wouldn’t be here’.
Three honourable mentions were also awarded to Carolina Araújo, an Aerospace Engineering undergraduate student, and João Martins and Luís Nóbrega, both Engineering Physics undergraduate students, in recognition of their commitment and academic merit in the Management curricular unit (CU).
During the ceremony, Carlos Elavai, Director and Partner at BCG, emphasised the importance of the award. ‘We want to establish a set of values that are very important to us: bringing excellence to society and our clients’, he shared, saying that it was “a great honour to present the award”.
The initiative also included a donation of 1070 euros to the Department of Engineering and Management (DEG) to enhance teaching and learning conditions for the management CU. José Rui Figueira, head of the department, thanked for the support. ‘This recognition not only highlights the talent of our students but also symbolises the positive impact that strategic partnerships (like the one we have with BCG) have on the development of future managers and professionals of excellence.’
The ceremony was attended by Carlos Monteiro, the professor in charge of the Management CU and member of the jury, who praised the quality and potential of the students, expressing that it was ‘a pleasure to work with them’. ‘They are an example that engineers are not just engineers, but much more than that’, he said.
In closing the session, Carla Patrocínio, Head of the Technology Transfer Unit at Técnico, emphasised the importance of BCG in establishing merit awards. ‘This award was the first initiative of its kind and has inspired the creation of more than 30 additional awards at Técnico – it’s a pleasure to have this partnership, which raises the level of training and recognition of our students,’ she said.
