On 26 November, master’s students of Industrial Engineering and Management at Técnico presented the finalist projects developed within the scope of the Warehouse and Materials Management curricular unit, at the 5th edition of the Worten Merit Award, held at Técnico – Oeiras campus. In the 2025/2026 academic year, the group composed of Francisco Brito, Manuel Salgado, Tomás Ramalho, and Tom Wende was the big winner of the initiative.
The session took place at the Log Lab (powered by Worten) and began with the presentation of the three finalist projects, which were selected based on the evaluation of the report and presentation materials developed throughout the study period. Each team was challenged to propose a new layout for Worten’s future distribution center and was given 15 minutes to pitch their solution. A Q&A session followed, led by the jury composed of Susana Relvas, senior lecturer of the curricular unit (UC) and Worten representatives Hugo Alexandre and Teresa Silva.
Pedro Amaral, Vice President of Técnico for Corporate Interface, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, highlighted the educational and practical nature of the award, as well as the value of the business relationship with Worten: “Congratulations on the commitment you’ve shown throughout this period and on your excellent work. I’m sure that you have learnt a lot and that your efforts have also allowed the professors to learn from you”. He concluded by encouraging students to build networks among themselves and with the company, reinforcing the importance of networking and collaboration with industry partners.
After the group presentations, Hugo Alexandre, from Worten, emphasised the value of the partnership and the diversity of perspectives brought by the projects: “What makes this collaboration so positive is the ability to bring together people from very different areas and viewpoints, all looking at the same type of problem and creating distinct and innovative solutions”.
The ceremony also included the presentation of a donation to the Department of Engineering and Management, intended to improve the teaching quality of the Warehouse and Materials Management curricular unit. José Figueira, Head of DEG, thanked everyone for their support, noting that this contribution enables continued investment in learning quality and reinforces the recognition of the department’s work in student education.
