“Inspiring words” in a “moving speech” – this is how Isabel Vaz's intervention, at the Graduation Day 2022 ceremony at Instituto Superior Técnico , was described by those who heard it. Former IST student, with a degree in chemical engineering, Isabel Vaz, CEO of Luz Saúde, was one of the special guests at this ceremony, which brought together 274 finalists, of which 259 Masters and 15 PhDs, their families and professors and assistants from the most prestigious engineering university in the country. In front of a filled auditorium – and after remembering that she “always wanted to be an engineer”, despite her father as a doctor and having grown up in a hospital – Isabel Vaz told how she was able to 'build' hospitals as an engineer: “Looking at a hospital with the eyes of an engineer was translated into practice with its identification as a factory, at the time an innovative concept and misunderstood by doctors and the status quo of current hospital management”. “My IST Professors had no idea-she exclaimed-how their classes and teachings would change the lives of so many people! And how they would forever mark the operational strategy of Grupo Luz Saúde hospitals, their leadership style, and my life”. This was her first message, “about being worth it” because then she spoke of “dreaming and doing” : “I believe we must work hard and do the best we know how, because we have an obligation to make the most of our potential, whatever it may be”; “In my case, I feel that I managed to convey my passion for the hospital experience to the entire Luz Saúde team, with a project that valued and continues to mark the private sector in Portugal for the ambition translated into the innovation that it introduced at various levels, namely in the application technology and the various engineering disciplines to a vital sector for society”; “Learn from examples but be exemplary yourselves! Because being an engineer is just that: it's daring to think about things as they never were and transforming the world”. The last message was dedicated to leadership and confrontation with the future. “Crises call everything into question and force us to be able to confront our future”, she said, adding: “Portugal needs leaders, engineers capable of formulating wishes for the future, of conceiving what we want it to it is. Portugal needs people capable of facing dogmas, of living new ideas, but also of combining known elements in a different way, inspired by a new reality. People capable of dreaming, of proposing a vision and capable of converting it into action. And isn’t this the essence of engineering and being an engineer?” In closing, the CEO of Luz Saúde addressed the new engineers directly: «You will see throughout your lives that the years at Técnico were worth it and that what you learned here will consistently make a difference in your lives», adding: «Congratulations for today, but tomorrow it's up to you to decide how you're going to serve humanity and make magic (…) Dear new colleagues, it's essential that you really know what you like. The best way to do a good job is to really like what we do». In addition to Isabel Vaz, the solemn session of Graduation Day 2022 at IST featured interventions by the president of Instituto Superior Técnico, Professor Rogério Colaço, and two finalists, Fábio Cruz, and Francisca Simões. Read more about this ceremony here .
