João Araújo completed the Integrated Master degree in Mechanical Engineering at Técnico in the 2020/2021 academic year. His academic journey was marked by excellence, which enabled him to win the last edition of the “Apetro Award”, established by the Portuguese Association of Oil Companies (Apetro). A few months after the award ceremony held in September 2021, João Araújo shares his happiness: “It is a great joy to see the work that I developed for 5 years being recognised. In fact, this was one of the first lessons I learnt: Técnico recognises and rewards the achievements of students”, says the alumnus.

According to the alumnus “it is very encouraging to see companies investing in students. It is a sign that they believe in us and in the quality of teaching at Técnico”. “And it’s important to see companies and universities cooperating, collaborating and rewarding merit,” he adds.

João Araújo stood out from dozens of other students, which was not an easy task. Faced with the question – “is there a secret behind academic success, such as in your case?” – the alumnus answers: “If you ask my father, he will say that I inherited intelligence from my mother – who got her PhD from Técnico; my grandmother will say that it was the lunches I had at her house – she lives in front of Técnico; my professors will say that the secret is to enjoy learning”. “If you ask a sociologist, he/she will say that I have benefited from an exceptional family support: my parents got their PhDs, my family has many university professors, I went to Colégio Planalto where I learnt abstract algebra and integral calculus, so in the first year at Técnico, while my colleagues were learning these things for the first time, I was just revising”, he adds.

“Being 100% attentive in class, start studying as soon as possible, and study the subjects from various sources of information are some positive habits that pay off the most”, says João Araújo.“Getting enough sleep and working hard are other important habits”, adds the PhD student at Stanford University.

According to the alumnus, attitude is an important aspect of achieving success. “I have always met two types of students throughout my academic journey at Técnico: students with defeatist attitude and students who are aware of the great opportunity of studying at university and the investment that goes with it”, he highlights. João Araújo has clearly decided to make the most of his academic experience at Técnico.

After completing his master’s degree at Técnico, João Araújo went to Stanford to do his PhD in Computer Science. “Although the course units are practically the same, the teaching method at Stanford is radically different from Técnico”, says the alumnus. “Here, the focus is much more on continuous assessment. Students have to deliver homework assignments every week. Usually, these works are difficult and require a lot of effort, but students are encouraged to work in small study groups. There are always assistant professors (masters and doctoral students) who are ready to help us and give suggestions”, he adds.

The Técnico alumnus shares that the big difference between Técnico and Stanford, as well as other universities such as Berkeley, CMU, MIT, Cornell, lies in the fact that “on these latter ones, you can start doing research with a professor right from the 1st year of the degree”. “This research work counts as credits and, therefore, students can enrol in fewer courses to focus more deeply on research. So, when they start their PhD, they already have the maturity, knowledge and publications that one would expect from a student at the end of a PhD”, he explains.

João Araújo had several opportunities to do research during his academic journey at Técnico, which is due in large part to the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and professors Pedro Lopes, Paulo Mateus, Manuel Lopes, and Carlos Guedes Soares. “I think I wouldn’t have been able to get into Stanford without their support. There are so many good candidates applying that being very good at Técnico, Imperial College, or Delft is not enough. Despite this, I have been able to respond to the multiple challenges that I have been facing,” he says.

Established in 2019 by DEM, in collaboration with MEMec coordination team, and with the sponsorship of Apetro, this award aims to foster, encourage and recognise the excellence of future mechanical engineers graduated at Técnico. The Apetro Award will be given to the best student of MEMec.

The Apetro Award has a monetary value of €5,000/year. The winning student will receive €2,500 euros and the other half of this amount will be used to improve the quality of teaching. The amount must be used for the acquisition of equipment, or for the development of projects within the scope of Energy Efficiency or Reducing the Emission of Greenhouse Gases and Particles, resulting from the use of mechanical equipment.