Director-General of the European Commission visits INESC TEC

Director-General of the European Commission visits INESC TEC

Khalil Rouhana, Deputy Director-General of DG CONNECT, visited INESC TEC on 12 February.

06th March 2019

DG CONNECT (Communications Networks, Content and Technology) is the European Commission’s department responsible for developing a digital single market to promote smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in Europe, thus opening digital opportunities for people and businesses and reinforcing Europe's position as a world leader in the digital economy.

The Director-General is committed to develop policies for the digital economy and for the society, namely for research and innovation while presenting solutions and strategies for societal challenges. Other elements that were involved in the European strategy for the Digital Single Market and that accompanied Khalil Rouhana were Carlos Morais Pires (Representative of the Coordination Team from the Strategic Research Programme) and Colette Maloney (Head of Competitive Electronics Industry).

The visit started with a general exhibition about INESC TEC, followed by two thematic presentations. One of the presentations was related to energy and smart grids, while the other one was about Artificial Intelligence for critical infrastructures.

Then, the delegation had the opportunity to get to know the Laboratory of Smart Grids and Electric Vehicles.

The visit was also attended by Manuel Heitor, the Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education; Ana Cristina Neves, Director of the Information Society Department of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT); Marta Lima Basto and Ana Costa Paula, Deputy Director-General for Economic Activities and Head of the Division for the Enterprise Policy of the Directorate-General for School Administration (DGAE), respectively; João Mil-Homens and Marta Candeias from ANI (Portuguese National Innovation Agency).

From INESC TEC, José Manuel Mendonça, Luís Carneiro, Gabriel David, José Carlos Caldeira, Rui Oliveira and Manuel Ricardo, Chairman and Members of the Board, respectively; João Peças Lopes, Associate Director; Ricardo Bessa, Centre Coordinator of the Centre for Power and Energy Systems (CPES); Alípio Jorge, Coordinator of the Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence and Decision Support (LIAAD); and Marta Barbas, Service Manager of Management Control were present. The researchers mentioned in this news piece are associated with INESC TEC, UP-FEUP, UP-FCUP and UMinho.