Sofia Ribeiro (AG)
“The Management Support Service nominates Sofia Ribeiro. Since May 2020, Sofia has been developing a high-quality work with valuable contributions to information management at INESC TEC. Among said results, we’d like to highlight the definition of INESC TEC’s global archive map, developed within the scope of Sofia’s undergraduate internship project; this work was carried out in liaison with INESC TEC Support Services, during the pandemic and according to very tight deadlines. More recently, Sofia elaborated INESC TEC’s Document Management Policy, which took effect in early 2022 and is now being implemented under Sofia’s excellent guidance. It’s important to mention that all these activities are taking place while Sofia focuses on her Master’s degree in Information Science and carries out her duties at ISPUP. Moreover, Sofia is actively involved in INESC TEC/ISPUP Data Protection Office. For the reasons presented, we believe that Sofia deserves public recognition for the results achieved, the quality of her work and her teamwork and collaborative skills at INESC TEC”.
– Manager of the AG
You defined the global archive map of INESC TEC and, more recently, elaborated the Institute’s Document Management Policy. What were the biggest challenges while developing these tasks?
There were several challenges, especially at the beginning. Regarding the first degree’s project that led to the global map, I think that the biggest obstacle was to talk with many different people and try to understand all the information INESC TEC services generate and require, in a short period of time (less than two months). I did all of this while teleworking! It’s the beginning of the pandemic, with people trying to adapt to new ways of working and communication; I faced a completely new environment while trying to understand the information needs of INESC TEC administrative structure. Looking back, I don’t even know how I managed to do all that… As to the Document Management Policy, I had more time to elaborate it, and the opportunity to talk to all Services again; however, and at the same time, the level of responsibility increased because I was not only dealing with a documentation map, but with the creation of guidelines to be applied globally – which implied understanding exactly what the services need and how to help them in terms of document management.
How important is it, for organisations, to develop and implement a Document Management Policy?
Document management is vital to the proper operation of any organisation, since it provides support to procedures and processes and promotes a solid basis for effectiveness and efficiency. Document management is also the organisations’ tool to retain evidence of their decisions and actions for future reference, while supporting the continuity of their activities.
Therefore, the definition and implementation of a Document Management Policy is quite important as it helps to promote efficiency (by providing mechanisms for information to be readily available for decision-making and operational purposes), good use and allocation of resources (by assigning conservation periods and final purposes adequate to the goal and importance of the information), accountability (by assigning responsibility for producing documents that reflect the organisation’s actions, activities and processes), legal compliance and risk mitigation (by managing the risks associated with illegitimate loss or destruction and excessive retention of documents, and risks resulting from improper or unauthorised access).
Which aspects of your job do you enjoy the most?
There are several aspects of my job that I truly appreciate, since I love to organise and “tidy things up” – something that fits quite well with information management. But the best aspect of my job is to help others and provide organisation tips, making it easier for them to perform their activities.
How do you comment on this nomination?
When Isabel told me she would nominate me, I was surprised, as I wasn’t expecting it! I am very grateful, because it shows that my work is acknowledged. I’d like to thank Isabel Macedo, not only for this nomination, but for the way she’s been ushering me in since day one, making me feel part of INESC TEC. I’d also like to thank Professor Gabriel David for guiding me on this path – I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him.
João Pedrosa (C-BER)
“Ana Maria and I would like to nominate João Pedrosa. João has done an excellent job at TAMI; he’s creative, persevering, and supports his colleagues, while focusing on publishing papers and proactively submitting project proposals”.
– Professors Aurélio Campilho e Ana Mendonça
You’ve been involved in the TAMI project, which aims to make the medical diagnosis supported by artificial intelligence clearer and more reliable. What have been the major challenges of this project?
TAMI has been an extremely challenging project, but very rewarding as well. The projects that we usually develop in medical image analysis are mostly related to the development of tools that allow us to extract certain clinical information, whether through detection, segmentation, classification or other methods. The question of explainability and making the tools clearer and more reliable has been increasingly important, and with regard to TAMI, it’s a crucial aspect. This paradigm shift has been very exciting, forcing us to think about new approaches and work with different tools; plus, it even led us to question our common approaches and how we perceive our research. I believe that the project’s results so far have been very interesting (I’m biased, of course); and we’re talking about a project that will certainly improve C-BER’s competencies.
Your research work is closely related to the application of technology in the field of health. Can you provide some examples of solutions under development and how they will contribute to an improvement in health care?
Regarding TAMI, we focus on several particular aspects, but at C-BER, the main goal has been the automatic detection of abnormalities in chest X-ray images. Chest radiography is an interesting challenge, because it is one of the most widely used medical imaging approaches, but also because of the amount of clinical data that can be extracted from a single image. A technology like the one we are developing could have multiple applications. Due to the large number of X-rays performed, the simple task of prioritising reading (identifying cases that need to be addressed quickly by a radiologist) is of great interest. It could also play a role in emergency services and units with fewer resources, namely as a second opinion system, helping physicians and technical staff who are less familiarised with image interpretation. Another potential application is training: since this tool that can not only identify outcomes and pathologies, but also explain these decisions, one can use it to train new radiologists and technical staff.
Which aspects of your job do you enjoy the most?
My main motivation is, obviously, to contribute to science and develop things that could potentially have a positive impact on healthcare and society. On a personal level, the continuous learning curve required to this type of work is quite important. Feeling challenged and being able to address each issue is very rewarding, and there are always unresolved questions. Finally, the relationships with the team and the academia are also very important. Knowing that the work I carried out played a key role in the work and training of people who, in the future, could go even further and perhaps change the world, is simply fantastic.
How do you comment on this nomination?
I’m very happy. I always try to do my best in everything I do, because I believe in the importance of what we do and how we contribute to society; knowing that my work is acknowledged is very nice. I’d also like to extend this nomination to all members of the C-BER team that I work with. The results come from teamwork, and my team allows me to work on things I love, while encouraging and supporting me every day – the same team that welcomed and believed in me since I first came to INESC TEC.
Nuno Paulino, Guilherme Carvalho, André Coelho, Ana Sequeira and Luís Aly (CTM)
“The CTM coordinators would like to nominate the organising committee of Open Day CTM 2022: researchers Nuno Paulino, Guilherme Carvalho, André Coelho, Ana Filipa Sequeira and Luís Aly. The organising committee showed significant commitment and dedication to the organisation (in record time) of yet another edition of one of CTM’s main annual events. This was a great moment to emphasise CTM status among students, through a very rich programme prepared by the organising committee – which included keynotes of CTM senior researchers and several hands-on workshops. These activities allowed showcasing the cutting-edge research developed at CTM among students, which will certainly help bringing more young researchers to work with us in the future, within the scope of summer or curricular internships, master’s or PhD theses or even as members of our projects’ teams. Congratulations to all members of the team!”
– CTM coordinators
The Open Day is one of the major annual events of CTM, bringing researchers closer to students. In your opinion, how important is this type of initiative?
In order to continue the Centre’s research and knowledge transfer activities, the most valuable resources are, without any question, people. Engineering areas in general are becoming increasingly niche, but overall, CTM covers a considerable range of competencies. In this sense, events like the Open Day CTM – particularly this year’s edition, focused on interactive workshops and sessions with senior researchers – are vital to show students that the Centre’s is characterised by a broad scientific scope, depth and cutting-edge themes.
How do you describe the experience of joining the event’s organising committee?
Demanding The organisation of this year’s edition, as previously stated by the coordinators, took place in “record time”. The uncertainty and instability of presents times are known to all. The pandemic restrictions led to changes in school schedules, much greater pressure on students (and CTM employees), and, consequently, less time available for the organisation, dissemination and planning of the event – despite our goal of maximising its impact. The main concern of students is, of course, their academic background. Since there’s a wide variety of events already taking place among the students, it’s hard to maximise the visibility of our event. Hence, the team in charge decided to upload on YouTube (available on the event’s website) the sessions with senior researchers; this way, their effort – and ours – will eventually pay off!
On a more personal note, and as General Chair, this was my first experience in organising an event like this one. In this sense, I’d like to thank the coordinators for relying on me, as well the other members of the team, for their experience stemming from previous editions. I’d also like to thank our partner, the IEEE Student Branch, for their availability to manage our site and visual identity; it’s also important to mention the efforts by INESC TEC’s Communication Service (SCOM), crucial to prepare the event is such a short time.
How do you comment on this nomination?
It feels good the be part of the “Incredibles”; however, there have been many other before us – and there will be many more responsible for organising future editions. As I mentioned before, the uncertainty and difficulties of present times are part of our daily lives. However, despite the challenges, barriers and uncertainties, we are – as a Centre and as an institute – willing to keep organising events that bring a sense of normal and emphasise science and cooperation, as well as our efforts towards a more stable and sustainable future – which is the most Incredible thing we do.
* the researcher Nuno Paulino was selected as the team’s spokesperson.
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