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Editorial
One of my previous Editorials for the IT Newsletter was dedicated to the shortage of qualified human resources that we are facing. It may seem repetitive to continue discussing this same topic, but it is still a major threat, and I see no signs of improvement. So, although six months have passed since I wrote that text, I see no symptoms of improvement!
Addressing this problem requires planning and measures that may need decades to take effect. This is because changing the perspective of the entire society towards formal education is essential before we can even dream of start preparing the number of engineers we need. Unfortunately, I see the opposite happening. For instance, at a time when we know that a shortage of professors in both high schools and universities is coming, there seems to be no plan to mitigate its inevitable effects.
In the 1980s, Portugal made the decision to broaden the population's access to education, leading to an influx of professors into the system. Now, all of these professors are set to retire in less than ten years, and we should already be preparing their replacements, or, at least, working to change society's perception of teachers, in particular, and of formal education, in general. However, there is no evidence of such preparation or effort.
Professors are overwhelmed by administrative duties, and they complain that their salaries have continuously been comparably reduced, leading some to even go on strike. As a result, we not only see unhappy professors, but we may also have students without classes.
I do not know whom to blame or how to solve this issue, but I do know that this does not contribute positively to society's perception of education. On the contrary, I am afraid it reinforces the lack of qualified human resources as a potential topic for future IT Newsletter Editorials.
José Carlos Pedro
(IT Board - Chairman)
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ISTSat-1 has completed its crucial structural qualification of ESA's Fly Your Satellite! Programme. Now, it‘s ready for the next destination: Space!
Following the travel back to IST Lisbon the students will be executing a Full Functional Test to verify the correct functionality of their CubeSat in preparation for the flight, then, following the last arrangement on the PFM, the final Flight Acceptance Review with flight authorities, and ESA supervision will be conducted.
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Mariana Abreu and Patrícia Bota will be showcasing their research on Girls ICT Day
The Ph.D. researchers Mariana Abreu and Patrícia Bota, from the biosignals research group at IT Lisbon (ScientiISST), will be talking at STEM LABs, to a group of girls from 3rd and secondary school next April 27th, on Girls ICT Day 2023.
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IT Quantum Technologies Laboratory on spotlight on Técnico's Day
Técnico's Day, on 23 May 2023, QuLab will be open to a group of students, to explain the fantastic new world of Quantum Technologies. Emmanuel Cruzeiro and Paulo André will be the hosts.
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IT contribution to the NextGen Mobility testbeds project will speed up mobility and smart infrastructures for Startups and SMEs
Instituto de Telecomunicações is part of two consortia linked to mobility in the National Tesbeds Network, the NextGen Mobility testbeds project, together with Brisa (project leader), Altice, A-to-Be, and FI Group.
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Daniel Corujo was elected to the Board of one6G
Our researcher Daniel Corujo was elected to the Board of the one6G. one6G is an association that aims to evolve, test and promote next-generation cellular and wireless technology-based communications solutions (6G).
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Binedge.ai is a new spin-off by Francisco Melo (CEO), Hugo Silva and Rui Maciel, which delivers EdgeAI solution that enables companies and developers to high-performance and ultra-low power deep-learning algorithms in the device itself, eliminating the need for constant connectivity infrastructure while safeguarding data privacy.
We caught up with the CEO, Francisco Melo, for an interview about Binedge.ai
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Q.DOT project explores a new generation of cryptographic technologies, based on the realization of high-speed quantum-enabled oblivious transfer cryptographic primitive for the statistical analysis of private databases - Privacy-Preserving Data Mining.
Listen to the podcast!
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Mariana Abreu
A Multimodal Approach for Epileptic Seizures Assessment and Prediction
Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering by the Instituto Superior Técnico (expected 2024), supervised by Ana Fred and Hugo Silva (IT-IST).
She chose this route because wanted to deepen an area of interest (data science and artificial intelligence), in the development of solutions with a positive impact on quality of life and health.
Her main interests include Data Analysis, Machine Learning, Event Prediction, and Health Monitoring.
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Patrícia Bota
Autonomous Scentic States Assessment: A Pervasive Approach for Wellness Monitoring
Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering by the Instituto Superior Técnico (expected 2024), supervised by Ana Fred and Hugo Silva (IT-IST).
She is currently a Ph.D. student at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), where she is dedicated to the study of human group emotions in a naturalistic context through artificial intelligence algorithms based on physiological data.
Her main interests include Artificial Intelligence, Affective Computing, Physiological Data and Signal Processing.
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Kyatam Shusmitha
Thermal management in high power devices using diamond
Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering by the University of Aveiro since January 2023, supervised by Luis Filipe Mesquita Nero Moreira Alves and Joana Catarina Martins Mendes (both from IT/UA).
The thesis focuses on the development of thermal management techniques in optoelectronic devices using high-κ materials such as diamonds. Novel passive thermal management methods are proposed with proof-of-concept experiments, thermal analysis (FEA), and thermal model validations. This research leads to a decrease in device operating temperatures, and a reduction in form factor thereby increasing the efficiency and lifetime of optoelectronic devices.
Shusmitha is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at IT Lisbon.
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Virginie Felizardo
Context-aware algorithms for Diabetes or Prediabetes prediction and diagnosis support in Ambient Assisted Living
Ph.D. in Computer Science by the Universidade da Beira Interior, March 2023, supervised by Nuno M. Garcia (IT/UBI) and Miguel Castelo-Branco (UBI).
The aim of this thesis was to develop a context-aware framework for hypoglycemia prediction using sparse data, information fusion and classifiers' consensus decisions in a 24-hour time frame. This approach proposes a hypoglycaemia prediction algorithm, in a self-management scenario, allowing it to be used by patients who perform their monitorization using a glucometer.
Virginie is a Researcher at IT at Covilhã and she is currently continuing the work carried out in the area of predictive algorithms in health.
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I’m a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering. My research and link with IT started during my master's thesis in 2017. I was involved in a European Project supervised by Nuno Matos (IT-UA), about the effects of civil construction materials in RF signals to develop radar. Later, I joined the Ph.D. program, under the supervision of Nuno Borges Carvalho and Ricardo Correia, focusing on developing new Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) solutions for IoT applications, in a project in collaboration with Huawei-Sweden. This project allowed us to develop innovative solutions to improve transmitter efficiency.
Currently, I’m an RF Engineer at Sinuta S.A., where we are developing new intelligent antenna architectures and ground stations for the new LEO satellites constellations, capable of providing high-speed communication links for most various fields such as aeronautical, autonomous vehicles, maritime or IoT. I’m also an external collaborator of IT-Aveiro, where I co-supervise one Ph.D. student and two master's students in collaboration with Nuno Borges Carvalho.
Even though I am in a different institution, IT continues to be a part of my life, where I maintain professional and personal relationships. I hope that the current collaboration between IT – Radio Systems Group and Sinuta can be the most successful for many years. I take this opportunity to acknowledge IT, its researchers, and administrative personnel for the collaboration over the last 7 years. Thank you!
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