Since 2016, the University of Lisbon, with the support of Caixa Geral de Depósitos, has been annually awarding the “University of Lisbon/Caixa Geral de Depósitos Scientific Awards,” with the aim of highlighting the best research works, fostering publications in internationally renowned journals. The awards focused on 20 different areas of work, choosing a winner and up to two honourable mentions for each area.

April 8 was the date chosen for the award ceremony, which brought together several of the winners at the Campo Grande Kaleidoscope.

João Guerra da Costa, Luís Graça and Miguel Castanho were the three award-winning professors, all representing the Institution for which they are currently working, the Faculty of Medicine. João Guerra da Costa, Professor at the Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology and General Therapeutics, and Luís Graça, Professor at the Laboratory of Basic Immunology of the FMUL and Group Leader at the iMM, were chosen in the area of Health, and Miguel Castanho, Professor at the Institute of Biochemistry of the FMUL, Group Leader at the iMM, the one chosen in Biomedical Sciences. Only Miguel Castanho attended the ceremony, João Guerra da Costa was represented by his daughter. Fausto J. Pinto, Director of the FMUL, who expressed great pride in these Awards, could not fail to attend the ceremony.

Armando Pombeiro, Professor at the Technical Institute and renowned Chemical Engineer, who also won an award, was the speaker who represented all those who were distinguished. In a speech that he himself referred to as being about various forms of hope, he said that the Awards were “an acknowledgement of the institution, an incentive for excellence in research, which transcends the dimension of those who are distinguished by putting an emphasis on all the teams;” he also referred to the Award ceremony as “a sentimental component that reinforces the value of the Award and the institution, giving added motivation to overcome obstacles in research works whose importance has not always been recognized.”

The Chairman of the Executive Committee of Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD), Paulo Macedo stressed that “these distinctions are part of a culture and an environment of excellence that we aim at achieving.” Mentioning the syndrome of the misunderstood artist who is only admired at a later stage, he made a point of countering the habit, saying that “we don’t want that to happen; we want these people to live in their time and become known in our society.”

Praising the various fields of knowledge, he also mentioned the Pessoa Awards as another example of representativeness of various personalities who work at the University of Lisbon. Looking at the University as a symbol of diversity, Paulo Macedo insisted on the healthy role played by the partnership with this Institution, mentioning its importance in Portuguese society. Represented by more than 50,000 students and with an employability of nearly 84%, ULisboa “is a frontrunner, both outside and inside the country.”
Every day, CGD invests 300 euros in ULisboa in an exchange of commitments, as he called it, between a donation and a return to society. “Awards must actively flourish among the Portuguese society.”

With the promise of “future partnerships with time and over time,” Paulo Macedo ended by saying “congratulations to all, we’re walking into the light.”

Closing the speeches, the Rector António Cruz Serra made a point of reinforcing the successful negotiation of an agreement for the next 5years with CGD, “Paulo Macedo looks at the role of the University the right way.”

And he could not fail to mention the issue of numbers because “although the government’s budget for the University doesn’t cover research, the University of Lisbon always plans a budget for it.”

He also mentioned that PhD scholarships in the amount of one million euros are supported every year, also with their own budget. Before the end of the ceremony, the Choir of the University of Lisbon could not fail to repeat one of the Institution’s mottoes. “You can’t teach properly if you’re not teaching the proper things.”

Joana Sousa

Editorial Team

Image credits: ULisboa