“Creating impact, being with people, contributing to their improvement and growing alongside them.” Ana Simões has never strayed from this path. With an infectious laugh, she is always looking to “embrace the next challenge”. She recently returned from Sweden, a “great” experience that perfectly matched an attitude that always puts those around her first.
When coffee arrived in Sweden, everything changed. It didn’t take long for the Swedes to pair it with small, sweet treats and, in no time, it became an institution: fika. It even became a verb, describing a mid-morning coffee break to slow down the working day – a moment to pause, explore ideas, and recharge. Ana Simões has a book about this story; it sits in plain sight in her office, right next to her keyboard, a reminder of the Swedish Way – as it says on the spine. It reflects a “way of being” that the INESC TEC researcher carried with her when she set off for five months in Sweden.
This is because what Ana Simões truly enjoys is “building networks”, bringing people together, integrating them, and working as a team. For the researcher – who spent nearly half a year at Chalmers University in Gothenburg, laughter comes easily, and even more so when shared: “On our own, we can never chart the path we need, and I’ve always found it important to build a support and collaboration network wherever I go.” Thanks to this mobility grant, she realised that said traits line up with the objectivity and “apparent” rigidity of Nordic culture. According to her, Sweden was a “defining moment” in her connection to INESC TEC, which has now lasted “officially and full-time” for almost 10 years. More importantly, it reinforced her belief that she can create a “safe harbour” in any environment.
It has always been this way. Research was not yet a career option, and INESC TEC didn’t even exist in Ana’s world when, shortly after completing her degree in Industrial Engineering and Management at the University of Aveiro, she stepped to the other side of the classroom. She has balanced more than 20 years of teaching with research, consultancy, a master’s degree, and a PhD – also in Industrial Engineering and Management, at the University of Porto.
“My main concern, when choosing the steps I should take in my career, was always whether it would create impact – not something purely academic that would end up forgotten in a drawer. Whether in consultancy work or teaching – where I feel I contribute to my students’ improvement and their personal journeys. And later, as a researcher, I wanted the same.” It was the right moment for INESC TEC to step in. The Institute knocked twice: first in 2011, through a PhD grant associated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and later the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT); during her PhD she was supervised by Américo Azevedo, now a researcher in Enterprise Systems Engineering – though she “spent very little time here”. And then, “officially”, in 2017.
By then, with her PhD completed, she learned of a position that seemed almost tailor-made: “Something I immediately liked, and already associated with INESC TEC, was the multidisciplinary nature. When I arrived, my first project was related to the adoption of collaborative robots in industry, and ever since, the projects I’ve worked on have had very high TRLs – always very close to real industrial needs.”
For nearly 10 years, she has been “growing alongside” the institution. Every day, she bridges the gap with industry and advances what she describes as increasingly relevant human-centred technology. She witnessed first-hand the creation and transformation of the Industry and Innovation Lab (iilab), one of INESC TEC’s research infrastructures – a space that connects industry and innovation to address market challenges – where she co-leads the training area. Among many other roles, she is also a board member of IAMOT (International Association for Management of Technology) and was co-chair of the 2024 conference, a flagship event in the field that brought researchers from more than 30 countries to Porto.
“Since my ‘official’ entry, I’ve witnessed our results achieving more impact. And I believe that is also due to the leadership roles I’ve taken on. The trust my coordinators and colleagues place in me gives me a strong sense of duty and fulfilment. Perhaps I feel it more because I’ve evolved and matured in terms of project leadership. When you lead, what you do has value for the people around you – it helps them grow. And it has value for the world beyond. INESC TEC doesn’t achieve this alone. It does so through people you and your team, and that is truly rewarding,” she said.
Like a glove
As Ana mentioned, “people are the foundations of any organisation.” Ana Simões found an environment that is “demanding, yet inclusive and welcoming” – a difficult balance to replicate. Perhaps that is why she felt the need to step outside her comfort zone; that’s where Chalmers came in: “It was something I had long wanted, but kept postponing, for both professional and personal reasons. FCT allocated funding for this mobility programme, so I realised I had to do it now.”
And how does someone so people-oriented – sociable, easy to talk to, and naturally inclusive – fit into the Swedish way? Apparently, like the gloves she had to wear during the challenging Nordic winter. The 30-minute fika breaks were always a success, but Ana had bigger plans – she just needed to get moving: “I mapped out places I wanted to explore; I love hiking, and Sweden is an incredible place to do so. Then I started involving others: I created a walking group with PhD students from Chalmers and other colleagues, and that initiative was highly praised – it was even highlighted during my farewell. Beyond professional success, I was happy to have created that sense of community.”
Not long ago, during a training session at INESC TEC, she recalled filling out a survey aimed at profiling participants. She already suspected the result: “a person with leadership traits.” Not that she needed confirmation – she has years of experience driving projects forward, leading teams, and helping to “put INESC TEC on the map”. She mentioned an example: “I feel I’ve been doing that, not only during my recent mobility but throughout my career, in the international conferences I attend and help organise. It’s also where I feel my skills can be best used to take INESC TEC even further.”
Besides feeling ready to “embrace new challenges”, she also believes she can go even further: “I would like to take on more leadership roles. But a research career is never clearly defined. You feel recognised, but not always that all your expectations are fully met. I see myself growing even more in leadership.”
Coffee break
The five months in Sweden felt like “the blink of an eye”, and before long she was back in Porto – her home for the past 25 years. Before that, there were other “smaller breaks”: leaving Barcelos as a teenager to settle in Aveiro for university, the definitive move to Porto, and the frequent trips to the University of Minho in Braga to teach for many years. At INESC TEC, she continues to move – from conference to conference, as a member of IFIP 5.7 (working group on Advances in Production Management Systems), from event to event, from one research project to another.
She finds her energy in physical activity (CrossFit and Hyrox fill her schedule) and outdoor activities, like walking and jogging. “These are the spaces I create to mentally switch off. I rely a lot on exercising. It’s good for fitness, of course, but above all I do it to feel good about myself. While I’m active, I don’t think about anything else.”
It’s her mental escape – one that didn’t take a break even in Sweden: “I love discovering new places. Enjoying new experiences. That’s exactly what happened during this mobility: it was a perfect match with who I am – creating impact, being with people, contributing to their improvement and growing with them.” Ana does this every day at INESC TEC – at the biggest conference, in the largest project, during a coffee break or a Portuguese-style fika. It’s simply her “way of being.”
News, current topics, curiosities and so much more about INESC TEC and its community!
