The first and second June 2010, took place in the Azurém Campus of the University of Minho, Guimarães, the exams of Habilitation in Industrial and Systems Engineering, requested by Dr. Maria Leonilde Rocha Varela, having been unanimously approved by the members of the jury.

The Jury of the exams was chaired by Maria Madalena Teixeira Araújo, Full Professor of the Department of Production and Systems of the School of Engineering of the University of Minho, and as members were Ana Paula Ferreira Dias Barbosa Póvoa, Full Professor of the Department of Engineering and Management of Instituto Superior Técnico of the University of Lisbon; Luís Manuel Camarinha Matos, Full Professor of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the New University of Lisbon; o Prof. João Carlos de Oliveira Matias, Full Professor of the Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism of the University of Aveiro; o Prof. Goran Putnik, Full Professor of the Department of Production and Systems of the School of Engineering of the University of Minho; Doctor Cláudio Manuel Martins Alves, Full Professor of the Production and Systems Department of the School of Engineering of the University of Minho; and Doctor Vesna Spasojevic-Brkic, Full Professor of the Industrial Engineering Department of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Belgrade, Serbia.

The degree of Habilitation is awarded to professors with a professional curriculum of high merit who demonstrate a relevant activity at the level of research, training or advanced supervision, and the authorship of scientific papers of recognised quality after obtaining a doctoral degree.