The first meeting of the School of Engineering Advisory Board took place on 13 March at 10.30 am in the School of Engineering’s meeting room on the University of Minho’s Azurém Campus.

The meeting was attended by ex officio members António Vicente, Filomena Soares, Joana Cunha, Daniel Oliveira and Hélder Puga; external figures António Carlos Rodrigues, Carlos Ribas, João Rodrigues, Manuela Vaz, Morten Kroger, Paulo Coelho Lima, Ricardo Araújo, Rui Oliveira and Teresa Martins; and representatives from UMinho’s Interface Units: Ana Lima (CCG/ZGDV), Cláudia Cristovão (PIEP), Luís Oliveira (Fibrenamics) and Paulo Ramísio (TecMinho). The following were present, by invitation: André Matos representing Júlio Viana (DTx), Ana Paula Brites, School Secretary, and Paula Pereira, Secretary to the School President.

Fernando Santos (Portuguese Engineers’ Association) and Jorge Araújo (CVR) were absent, having given prior notice.

The Chair of the Advisory Board, António Vicente, opened the meeting by welcoming and thanking the board members for attending, followed by a round of introductions amongst those present, given that this was the Advisory Board’s first meeting under the new term of office.

Once the introductions were complete, and given that the majority of those present were engineers, the Chair introduced the motto “Tomorrow Needs Engineering”, setting out the strategic vision of the School of Engineering, before going on to present the 2025 Activity Report and the School of Engineering’s Activity Plan for 2026.

The UMinho School of Engineering will soon begin a new round of interviews with all board members, sharing with the academic community their perspectives and expectations regarding the School’s activities, as well as the state of engineering on the national and international stage.