The Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Fernando Alexandre, and the Secretary of State for Science and Innovation, Helena Canhão, were at the University of Minho on July 24 to participate in a series of initiatives and visits.
Early in the morning, they sponsored the formalization ceremony of the Consortium of Science Schools (CEC), which took place in the main hall of the Rectory, in Largo do Paço, in Braga. This network brings together the faculties and schools of Sciences of ten national public universities – Azores, Algarve, Aveiro, Beira Interior, Évora, Lisbon, Madeira, Minho, Porto and Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro.
Fernando Alexandre then went to the Azurém campus of UMinho, in Guimarães, where he gave a lecture on the digital transformation that connects academia to the economy and visited the technological exhibition “Open Tech Day”, of the collaborative laboratory DTx. The moment included the presentation of the results of three mobilizing agendas and an international project.
The governor also visited the Deucalion supercomputer on campus, which has helped boost projects by public and private entities on climate change, AI, medicine and oceanography. This infrastructure, integrated in the European EuroHPC network, is managed by FCT/AI2 and operated by the National Centre for Advanced Computing, in collaboration with UMinho and INESC TEC.
The tour continued in the afternoon at the neighboring PIEP – Polymer Engineering Innovation Hub. This interface was born 25 years ago and stands out for its applied research, technology transfer and circular economy for the plastics industry, in areas such as biopolymers, defense, mobility and aerospace.
The Secretary of State Helena Canhão – always accompanied by the Pro-Rector for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Transfer, Raul Fangueiro – would return to Braga to intervene in the 50th anniversary of the Department of Informatics of the School of Engineering of UMinho, also getting to know an allusive exhibition and several demonstrations.
The moment was accompanied by Raul Fangueiro (Pro-Rector for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Transfer), António Vicente (President of the School of Engineering), Paulo Novais (Director of DI), António Sousa (Deputy Director of DI) and Luís Soares Barbosa (Responsible for the Commemorations of the 50th Anniversary of Informatics at UMinho).
The Gualtar campus also hosted the closing of the Summer on Campus, International Staff Week, Sou initiatives. UMinho 5.0 and PLE BabeliUM Course, in addition to the institutional welcome session for new members of the academy and UMinho Fest for their community.
