Instituto Superior Técnico
Encyclopedia
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, part of Universidade Técnica de Lisboa (Technical University of Lisbon). IST is the largest and the most prestigious school of engineering in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. It is a public school with large scientific and financial autonomy, founded in 1911.
IST, since its foundation, has been the largest school of engineering, science and technology in Portugal, at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. It develops strong research and development activities in accordance with the highest international standards.
It has two campi, both located in the Greater Lisbon area (Alameda in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
and Taguspark
Taguspark
Taguspark is a science and technology park located in the municipality of Oeiras, Greater Lisbon subregion, Portugal. In an area of approximately 3.6 km², 2 km² of which are occupied by the Park, there are several research and development labs, innovative startups and business incubators in a range...
in Oeiras), and consists of ten Departments and one Autonomous Section that are responsible for teaching the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Each Department is organised in sections, which group together specific subjects within its scientific area. In addition, the laboratories of the several Departments are an important source of support to the teaching and research activities carried out at IST.
Today, IST offers 21 undergraduate programmes attended by more than 5,800 students, covering a wide range of areas of knowledge, including not only all the traditional engineering specializations, but also other modern areas such as Biomedical Engineering, Aerospace and Physics Engineering.
Postgraduate training is also very important with over 4,300 students enrolled in 25 master's, 28 doctoral and several specialized programmes. Its highly-qualified faculty includes 1186 Ph.D. holders.
IST is also actively involved in several networks and international programmes to promote student mobility, both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Through a large number of agreements with other institutions worldwide, IST participates in more than 20 Dual Master programmes, and joint PhD programmes with MIT, CMU
CMU
CMU may stand for a university:*Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States*Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States*Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada...
, UT-Austin and EPFL.
IST benefits from an IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
supercomputer
Supercomputer
A supercomputer is a computer at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation.Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as problems including quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling A supercomputer is a...
built in 2007, which is one of the most powerful in Portugal (1.6 TFLOPS as of 2007).
History
Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) was created in 1911 from the division of the Industrial and Commercial Institute of Lisbon. Alfredo Bensaúde, an engineer, was IST's first dean (1911–1922) and promoted a wide-rang reform in the Portuguese higher technical education, including the first engineering courses at IST: mining, civil, mechanical, electrical, and chemical-industrial. IST's second dean was Duarte Pacheco (1927–1932), also an engineer, who was responsible for the construction of the university campus at Alameda. The architect Porfírio Pardal Monteiro designed it. Meanwhile IST became part of the recently created Technical University of LisbonTechnical University of Lisbon
The Technical University of Lisbon is a Portuguese public university. It was created in 1930 in Lisbon, as a confederation of older schools, and comprises, nowadays, the faculties and institutes of veterinary medicine; agricultural sciences; economics and business administration; engineering,...
. Throughout the following decade, the image of engineers from IST was projected into major engineering works, promoted by Duarte Pacheco, who was by the time Minister of Public Works.
Between 1952 and 1972, 12 study centres were established in Portugal, three of them at IST, in the fields of chemistry, geology and mineralogy, and electronics. These centres were responsible for promoting faculty training and scientific qualification through doctoral studies in universities and research centres abroad. In 1970, the minimum period for obtaining a bachelor degree decreased from six to five years, and IST denoted a remarkable increase of the number of students. During this period, scientific research at IST increased significantly, through the creation of the Complexo Interdisciplinar which fasten together various autonomous research units, and contributes to transform IST in a reference school at European level.
In the 1990s, new courses were created in cutting-edge engineering areas, including master and doctoral programmes. In 2001, IST inaugurated a new campus in Oeiras
Oeiras
Oeiras is a town and a municipality in western Lisbon Metropolitan Area, Portugal. It is in conurbation with Lisbon, the parish population is 34,850, and the entire Oeiras Municipality has 168,475 inhabitants. The town of Oeiras is one of the most populous towns in Portugal...
, located in a science and technology park, the TagusPark
Taguspark
Taguspark is a science and technology park located in the municipality of Oeiras, Greater Lisbon subregion, Portugal. In an area of approximately 3.6 km², 2 km² of which are occupied by the Park, there are several research and development labs, innovative startups and business incubators in a range...
, which involves more than 120 technology-based companies. In the academic year of 2006-2007, the Declaration of Bologna was successfully implemented for all IST programmes, aiming the establishment of a European Education Area to make Europe a competitive knowledge-based economy.
Today's IST is generally recognised as Portugal's leading engineering school. IST is involved with some of Portugal's most prestigious R&D&I and technology transfer institutions. A vast number of courses in cutting-edge engineering areas, at undergraduate, master and doctoral levels, are nowadays offered at IST. IST is also actively involved in several networks and international programmes to promote student mobility, both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Through a large number of agreements with other institutions worldwide, IST participates in more than 20 Dual Master programmes, and joint PhD programmes with MIT, CMU
CMU
CMU may stand for a university:*Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States*Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States*Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada...
, UT-Austin and EPFL.
Programs of study
IST offers undergraduate and graduate studies in:- Aerospace EngineeringAerospace engineeringAerospace engineering is the primary branch of engineering concerned with the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft. It is divided into two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering...
- Applied MathematicsMathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and ComputationComputationComputation is defined as any type of calculation. Also defined as use of computer technology in Information processing.Computation is a process following a well-defined model understood and expressed in an algorithm, protocol, network topology, etc... - ArchitectureArchitectureArchitecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
- Biological EngineeringBiological EngineeringBiological engineering, biotechnological engineering or bioengineering is the application of concepts and methods of biology to solve problems in life sciences, using engineering's own analytical and synthetic methodologies and also its traditional...
- Biomedical EngineeringBiomedical engineeringBiomedical Engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology. This field seeks to close the gap between engineering and medicine: It combines the design and problem solving skills of engineering with medical and biological sciences to improve...
- Chemical EngineeringChemical engineeringChemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
- Civil EngineeringCivil engineeringCivil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
- Communication NetworksTelecommunications networkA telecommunications network is a collection of terminals, links and nodes which connect together to enable telecommunication between users of the terminals. Networks may use circuit switching or message switching. Each terminal in the network must have a unique address so messages or connections...
Engineering - Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Electronics Engineering
- Environmental EngineeringEnvironmental engineeringEnvironmental engineering is the application of science and engineering principles to improve the natural environment , to provide healthy water, air, and land for human habitation and for other organisms, and to remediate polluted sites...
- Geological and Mining EngineeringMining engineeringMining engineering is an engineering discipline that involves the practice, the theory, the science, the technology, and application of extracting and processing minerals from a naturally occurring environment. Mining engineering also includes processing minerals for additional value.Mineral...
- Industrial Engineering and ManagementIndustrial engineeringIndustrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...
- Information Systems and Computer EngineeringComputer scienceComputer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
- Materials Engineering
- Mechanical EngineeringMechanical engineeringMechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
- Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering
- Physics Engineering
Affiliations
- Instituto Superior Técnico is a member of TIME association (Top Industrial Managers for EuropeTop Industrial Managers for EuropeTop Industrial Managers for Europe is a network of more than fifty engineering schools and faculties and technical universities....
) for researchers and student exchanges and double-degree in Europe. T.I.M.E. Coordinator is Prof. José Santos-Victor.
- It also belongs to CLUSTER (Consortium Linking Universities of Science and Technology for Education and Research), which is a network of leading European Universities of Technology; their fundamental missions are advanced research and higher education of engineers, scientists and architects. See Cluster
- IST is also a member of the Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research (CESAER), a non-profit association of leading engineering universities in Europe.
Locations
IST has two campi:- the Alameda campus, located in the heart of LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
- the TagusparkTagusparkTaguspark is a science and technology park located in the municipality of Oeiras, Greater Lisbon subregion, Portugal. In an area of approximately 3.6 km², 2 km² of which are occupied by the Park, there are several research and development labs, innovative startups and business incubators in a range...
campus, located in Oeiras
Notable alumni
- Alfredo Nobre da Costa, former Prime Minister of Portugal (1978), former Minister for Industry and Technology (1975–76)
- Alberto Romão DiasAlberto Romão DiasAlberto Romão Dias was a full professor of the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department at the Instituto Superior Técnico of the Technical University of Lisbon in Portugal....
, former State Secretary for Higher Education, university professor, chemical-industrial engineering (1964) - Ângelo CorreiaÂngelo CorreiaÂngelo Correia is a Portuguese manager, engineer and politician, former Minister of Internal Administration of the Portuguese Government under the leadership of Aníbal Cavaco Silva. He was also member of the Portuguese Parliament for the Portuguese Social Democrats from 1976 to 1995...
, politician and business administrator, chemical-industrial engineering (1968) - António CâmaraAntónio CâmaraAntónio Câmara is a Professor at the Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa and has been a Visiting Professor at both Cornell University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...
, founder and CEO of YDreamsYDreamsYDreams is an interactive technology company headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal, with offices in Barcelona, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and New York City...
, Prémio PessoaPrémio PessoaThe Prémio Pessoa is a Portuguese award instituted in 1987 by the newspaper Expresso and the IT company Unisys. It is granted annually to the person of Portuguese nationality who during this period, and in the course of previous activity, has distinguished him or herself as a figure in scientific,...
winner, researcher and professor at the Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de LisboaFaculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de LisboaThe Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, FCTUNL or FCT for short, is a Portuguese faculty of the New University of Lisbon located on the Caparica Campus, near Lisbon....
, civil engineering - António Couto dos Santos, former Minister for Youth (1987–91), Parliamentary Affairs (1991–92)and Education (1993–95)
- António GuterresAntónio GuterresAntónio Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, GCC is a Portuguese politician, a former prime minister and President of the Socialist International. Currently he is the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.-Early life:...
, former Prime Minister of PortugalPrime Minister of PortugalPrime Minister is the current title of the chief of the Portuguese Government. As chief executive, the Prime Minister coordinates the action of ministers, representing the Government from the other organs of state, accountable to Parliament and keeps the President informed...
; former president of the Socialist InternationalSocialist InternationalThe Socialist International is a worldwide organization of democratic socialist, social democratic and labour political parties. It was formed in 1951.- History :...
and United Nations High Commissioner for RefugeesUnited Nations High Commissioner for RefugeesThe Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to...
, electrical engineering (1971) - Artur AgostinhoArtur AgostinhoArtur Agostinho was a Portuguese journalist, recipient of the Order of Saint James of the Sword .- References :...
, sports news, radio and television personality, actor, television presenter, electrical engineering (did not graduate) - Diamantino Durão, former Minister for Education (1991–92), former President of IST (1984–91, 1993–2000)
- Duarte Pacheco, former Mayor of Lisbon (1938), former Minister for Public Instruction (1928) and Public Works and Communications (1932–36, 1938–43), former President of IST (1927–28, 1936–38), electrical engineering (1923)
- Fraústo da Silva, former Minister for Education (1982–83)
- João de Deus PinheiroJoão de Deus PinheiroFor the city of João Pinheiro in the state of Minas Gerais see João PinheiroJoão de Deus Rogado Salvador Pinheiro, GCC, born 11 July 1945 in Lisbon, is a Portuguese politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Social Democratic Party–People's Party coalition; part of the European...
, politician, Minister of Education, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Member of the European Parliament, European Commissioner, rector, university professor, chemical-industrial engineering (1970) - João Pavão MartinsJoão Pavão MartinsJoão Pavão Martins is a Full Professor of Computer Science and Engineering in Instituto Superior Técnico .He was one of the persons behind the creation of the Computer Science and Engineering degree of Instituto Superior Técnico, in 1988, and one of the founders of the Department of Computer...
, founder of SISCOGSiscogSISCOG is a software company that provides decision support systems for resource planning and management in transportation companies, with special experience in the field of railways.-History:...
, full professor of Computer Science and Engineering at IST, mechanical engineering (1976) (later got a masters degree in computer science and a PhD in Artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
from State University of New York at Buffalo). - João Sentieiro, current president of Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), full professor at IST, electrical engineering (1969)
- José Sucena Paiva, former State Secretary for Science and Technology, full professor at the IST Energy Department, electrical engineering (1966)
- José Epifanio da Franca, full professor at the IST Electronics Department, electrical engineering (1978), co-founder (1997) and CEO of Chipidea Microelectrónica.
- José Manuel Bento dos SantosJosé Manuel Bento dos SantosJosé Manuel Bento dos Santos is a Portuguese cook, gastronomer, businessman, trader, metals broker, writer and chemical engineer. Bento dos Santos studied chemical-industrial engineering at the Instituto Superior Técnico , Technical University of Lisbon...
, businessman, trader, metals broker, cook, gastronomer, chemical-industrial engineering. - Júlio Ferry Borges, former president of the Euro-International Concrete Committee, civil engineering (1945)
- Luis Veiga da Cunha, former Minister for Education, (1979–80)
- Maria de Lurdes PintasilgoMaria de Lurdes PintasilgoMaria de Lourdes Ruivo da Silva de Matos Pintasilgo,GCC,GCIH ; was the first and to date only woman to serve as Prime Minister of Portugal, and the second woman to serve as Prime Minister in Europe, after Margaret Thatcher who had been firstly elected for this capacity in the same year.Maria de...
, first woman to serve as Prime Minister of PortugalPrime Minister of PortugalPrime Minister is the current title of the chief of the Portuguese Government. As chief executive, the Prime Minister coordinates the action of ministers, representing the Government from the other organs of state, accountable to Parliament and keeps the President informed...
, chemical-industrial engineering (1953) - Mariano GagoMariano GagoMariano Gago, ComSE , fullname José Mariano Rebelo Pires Gago, graduated as an electrical engineer by the Technical University of Lisbon's Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, and did advanced research work in Paris at the École Polytechnique as a high-energy physicist...
, Portuguese Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education, electrical engineering (1960) - Mário CrespoMário Crespo-Early life:He was born in Coimbra, his father was an employee of the Portuguese bank Banco Nacional Ultramarino , and his mother, a professor at the Commercial School. As civil servants of the Portuguese Empire, they moved to Portuguese Mozambique capital, Lourenço Marques, with their only baby son...
, television presenter, reporter, journalist (did not graduate) - PepetelaPepetelaArtur Carlos Maurício Pestana dos Santos is a major Angolan writer of fiction. He writes under the name Pepetela....
, Angolan writer, sociology professor (did not graduate) - Paulo BrancoPaulo BrancoPaulo Branco is a Portuguese film producer.-Selected filmography:* The Territory * Three Crowns of the Sailor * City of Pirates * Manoel's Destinies * Treasure Island...
, film producer and distributor, chemical engineering - Raul Pires Ferreira ChavesRaul Pires Ferreira ChavesRaúl Pires Ferreira Chaves was a Portuguese civil engineer and inventor. A graduate of the Instituto Superior Técnico of Lisbon. He lived and primarily worked in Portugal, Cape Verde and Portuguese Guinea ....
, inventor, former Director of Public Works in Cape Verde and Portuguese Guinea, former president of Associação Industrial, Comercial e Agrícola da Guiné - Roberto Carneiro, former Minister for Education (1987–91)
- Stephan MoraisStephan MoraisStephan Godinho Lopes Morais is a European business management executive and investor.-Academic career:...
, first Portuguese to be nominated a Young Global Leader by the World Economic ForumWorld Economic ForumThe World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
External links
- Instituto Superior Técnico Home Page
- Universidade Técnica de Lisboa Home Page
- Mobility and International Cooperation Office (NMCI)
- "Study at IST"
- Rádio Zero Instituto Superior Técnico Radio
- Diferencial Instituto Superior Técnico Newspaper
- CinemaParaIST Instituto Superior Técnico Film Club
- Projecto FST Instituto Superior Técnico Formula Student Team