on 11-06-2024
According to this committee, this award recognizes all the efforts and contributions Hugo Plácido da Silva has made to make BITalino a success. BITalino originally started at Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT), and has grown significantly. BITalino provides a low-cost, purpose-built, all-in-one hardware and software toolkit designed for the quick and easy creation of quirky projects with body signals, development of quantified-self wearable devices or apps, and/or learning how to build medical devices. Launched in 2013, it already has an installed base of 10k+ units worldwide.
Our Senior Researcher, Professor at the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Department of Bioengineering (BDE), and entrepreneur, is truly grateful for this excelling recognition, as his next testimonial underlines:
“As known, IEEE is a global flagship society for engineering, and being honored with the IEEE Entrepreneurship Impact Award is undeniably one of the highest appraisals in the realm of my professional achievements. This recognition stands as the pinnacle of my career. Notably, to the best of my knowledge, I am the first Portuguese citizen to be bestowed with such a prestigious award.
I'm fortunate to be among those who can say they've spent very few days "working" in their lives. It's not because of a lack of employment opportunities (fortunately), but rather because I've found joy and passion in what I do almost every day. The journey to this point hasn't always been easy, requiring countless hours of dedication to make my entrepreneurial endeavors successful. Despite the challenges and necessary compromises, recognitions like this one prove that my journey is on the right track, motivating me to continue blazing the trail.
However, I like to emphasize that along the way I had the luck of having a dedicated team. This incredible journey starts with my family, whose understanding and love grounds all my accomplishments. It extends to a diverse team of friends, colleagues, collaborators, students, and support staff - both current and past - whose collective efforts contribute to every success throughout the years. This collaborative spirit spans across various institutions that have played a crucial role in my work. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to every one of them. This achievement is not only mine; it belongs to this amazing team.
Lastly, I would like also to extend a special word of appreciation to Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT), for the support throughout these years, which has greatly contributed to this result.”