On 13 November last, in the meeting room of the Presidency of EEUM, the new direction of the Department of Mechanical Engineering for the biennium 2020/2022 took office. Raúl Fangueiro is the new department director, with Cândida Vilarinho as deputy director.
In his speech, Raúl Fangueiro said that the direction of a department would not be in his plans at the beginning of his career as a university professor: “(…) Looking back my journey has been built on this uncertainty, on this unpredictability, on this constant anxiety, of being able to contribute to the growth and affirmation of the University of Minho in general, and of the School of Engineering in particular, at each moment in a different way, thinking that it will obviously be the best. It is, therefore, with a spirit of mission and responsibility that I assume here today the task of leading the destiny of the Mechanical Engineering department for the next 2 years”.
The new department director said he had the support of all the members of the DEM, underlining the collaboration of the course directors and highlighting the essential role of the new deputy director, Cândida Vilarinho: “I am counting, of course, on the collaboration and commitment of all the elements of the DEM: career teachers, guest teachers, non-teaching staff, researchers, in short, everyone. Certainly not many of us, united in a sense of body, will always be stronger. But I am counting above all on the team that will work more directly with me, with special emphasis on Professor Cândida Vilarinho, who will assume the functions of deputy director, and whom I take this opportunity to thank publicly for promptly accepting the invitation I addressed to her. For her recognised technical and managerial skills, but also perhaps above all for her enormous interpersonal skills, she will undoubtedly be a key element in ensuring the success of the DEM”.
Raúl Fangueiro finished his speech by thanking the previous departmental directorate for their commitment, and by stating his total willingness to collaborate with the Presidency of the School of Engineering in the search for solutions for the common good of the academic community: Mr. President of the School of Engineering, you can count on DEM as an active department in the construction of an engineering school of and with future. Here too, the collaborative spirit will certainly be the basis for finding compromise solutions that meet everyone’s wishes”.
In turn, the President of the School began by congratulating the new management and thanking the previous management of the Mechanical Engineering department, stressing that recognition is not always proportional to the demands of the function: “I would like to thank you all because in fact much of this work is not recognized in proportion to what it requires, in terms of hours and effort, and sometimes personal dedication and therefore, above all, to José Carlos and the Delfim, and I personalize in you exactly this work, but thank you for what was your role in the defense of the DEM but also of the School of Engineering”.