Iscte will award, this Monday, December 15th, doctorates for the sake of honor to three leading figures in Portuguese scientific, business and journalistic life: journalist Teresa de Sousa, engineer and scientist Carlos Salema and manager Isabel Furtado. The ceremony will take place at 3:00 pm, in the university’s Grand Auditorium, in Lisbon.
The distinction is part of the celebrations of Iscte’s 53rd anniversary and aims to recognize paths that marked the country in central areas of knowledge and citizenship. “Iscte wants to distinguish personalities to whom the country owes a lot in science, innovation, industrial sustainability and in the construction of an informed and democratic public opinion”, says the rector, Maria de Lurdes Rodrigues.
Regarding Carlos Salema, the rector of Iscte highlights his career as a researcher, professor, founder of the Telecommunications Institute (IT), president of the National Board of Scientific and Technological Research – JNICT (predecessor of the Foundation for Science and Technology – FCT) and, also, president of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences. “Carlos Salema is a source of inspiration for Iscte in the development of the area of technology, particularly in the large international project to test the new generation of multi-core optical fiber”says Maria de Lurdes Rodrigues, quoted in a statement.
Teresa de Sousa, a journalist for Público, is distinguished for her contribution to national and international political journalism. “The attribution of the title ‘for the sake of honor Teresa de Sousa means Iscte’s tribute to the serious, rigorous, cosmopolitan and European press, which bases its mission on the values of humanism”, emphasizes Maria de Lurdes Rodrigues. In a context of debate about the future of social communication, he adds, it is important to “draw the attention of our students, and all citizens, to the value of professionals like Teresa de Sousa”.
Isabel Furtado’s distinction, a manager with a distinguished career in the textile and automotive industries, “highlights Iscte’s connection to companies and forms of management committed to social and environmental issues, which promote sustainable practices and stimulate industrial innovation”, says the institution. “Isabel Furtado is one of the most relevant figures in the textile and automotive industries in Portugal, having distinguished herself by an inspiring presidency at the head of COTEC Portugal – Associação Empresarial para a Inovação and, currently, as president of the Board of Directors of Casa da Música”, says Maria de Lurdes Rodrigues.
Since 1999, Iscte has distinguished with doctorates for the sake of honor personalities of exceptional merit, such as José Veiga Simão, Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Brazil), José Pacheco Pereira, António Correia de Campos, Nuno Portas, Manuela Veloso and Pedro Pires (Cape Verde).