The Inside DEI is different.

After introducing the DEI staff, we will now get to know our professors a little better. 

In this edition, we will learn more about Professor Arlindo Oliveira.

• Tell us a bit about yourself and your journey at Técnico.

I didn’t really know where I wanted to study, I only knew that I wanted to study computers. At the time, my parents bought me a ZX81 (and later a Spectrum), and I learned to program at home, in Montijo, where I had lived since my family returned from Africa (where I was born).

There wasn’t much information available back then, and I was lucky to choose Técnico, where I quickly realized I had made the right decision. Computers were still in their infancy, and during the seven years I studied here (at the time, the master’s degree required two additional years), I had the opportunity to witness a rapid evolution of technology, from computers that read punched cards (which I still used in my first year) to the first graphical workstations, which ran window-based systems and were capable of displaying images. During that time, I was invited to join INESC while I was in my third year, an institution to which I remain strongly connected and which, to me, represents an extension of IST.

During my master’s degree, I was encouraged by several professors, particularly Prof. Luís Vidigal, to continue my studies in the United States, where I eventually earned my PhD at the University of California, Berkeley. Even during the more than five years I spent in Berkeley, I never disconnected from Técnico, where I had always planned to return, despite the opportunities that arose after completing my doctorate. That is why I ultimately returned to IST in 1994, where I pursued a relatively straightforward academic career.

In 1999 (still as an associate professor), I was challenged to take on academic and research management roles by Professors Luís Borges de Almeida and Manuel de Medeiros Silva, which ended up shaping a large part of my academic path from 2000 to the present day. One thing led to another: I accepted the position of Vice-President of IST (responsible for finance, at the invitation of Prof. António Cruz Serra) in 2009, and later assumed the role of President of IST in 2012, a position I held until 2019. Serving as President of IST was a fascinating and formative experience, during which I had the opportunity to work (intensely, it must be said) with many brilliant people: professors, staff, and students who shared with me a deep love for the School that is common among so many who work here. Interestingly, people outside IST do not always understand this strong sense of belonging (and affection for Técnico) that is shared by almost everyone who works and studies here.

• What does your teaching work currently consist of?

At IST, I have taught many different courses, ranging from numerical analysis to programming and algorithms, as well as courses on circuit design, computer architectures, and artificial intelligence. In fact, my PhD was in an area now known as artificial intelligence, although at the time the more common term in Portuguese was machine learning. I was therefore a teaching assistant and professor in three departments (Mathematics, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and, since 1998, Computer Engineering).

I also took part in the creation of DEI in 1998, at the invitation of Prof. José Alves Marques, joining the group of the first faculty members who established the department, in a process led by Professors José Tribolet, José Alves Marques, João Lourenço Fernandes, and João Pavão Martins. At that time, I focused on creating and teaching courses in the field of machine learning, an area that has developed tremendously since then, experiencing rapid growth following the deep learning revolution beginning in 2012.

In recent years, with the growth of DEI and the arrival of new faculty members, I have focused more on courses in programming, algorithms, and complexity, an area that I also helped establish at DEI and which was still underdeveloped in Portugal when I returned to the country.

• And in research?

In research, I have never strayed far from the two areas I focused on during my PhD: machine learning and algorithms. However, I developed many applications in fields that later became independent and gained significant prominence, namely bioinformatics, circuit design, computer architectures, and artificial intelligence. More recently, I have returned somewhat to my roots, focusing again on the development of new machine learning technologies (as mentioned, a subfield of artificial intelligence), the area behind the major advances in AI over the past decades.

The idea that first brought me to Técnico (that computers can learn) is also the one I intend to dedicate myself to until the end of my research career. The applications that interest me most today are natural language processing (the technologies behind systems such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, for example) and computer vision (the technologies that allow computers to understand and interpret what they see). That said, I must admit that I never expected artificial intelligence systems to become so powerful in such a short time (after all, I have worked in this field for nearly 40 years), surpassing even my most optimistic predictions.

• Which projects from your career would you highlight? For example, the most inspiring, innovative, or impactful ones.

When I returned from the United States, we created a Lisbon branch of the Cadence European Laboratories, a highly impactful project because it was the first time a Portuguese university had been contracted by a major multinational company in circuit research, in this case, a company based in Silicon Valley.

A few years later, together with Prof. Ana Teresa Freitas, I created the Knowledge Discovery and Bioinformatics (KDBio) group, which became a reference in Portugal. It led to the creation of a company that still exists today (HeartGenetics) and was at the origin of several other research groups. At the same time, I was involved in the creation of INESC-ID (having been one of its first directors and later its president), an institution that has grown and strengthened over the 25 years since its founding.

In 2009, I participated in the Statutory Assembly that drafted IST’s new statutes, in which Prof. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa played a fundamental role, along with Professors António Cruz Serra, Eduardo Pereira, and Tiago Domingos. During the second decade of the 21st century, already as part of Técnico’s leadership, the main effort was placed on internationalization (with the invaluable contribution of Professors José Santos Víctor and Luís Silveira), on building stronger connections with industry, and on increasing emphasis on institutional communication. The work carried out during that decade of strong openness between Técnico and society was ultimately realized (already during the term of Prof. Rogério Colaço) with the construction of the Técnico Innovation Center, supported by members of the Técnico Partner Network, an initiative that remains active and healthy and resulted from the leadership of Prof. Luís Caldas de Oliveira, then Vice-President of Técnico.

After leaving IST’s management in 2020, I created a new research group at INESC-ID, the Machine Learning and Knowledge Discovery Group, which has gained significant momentum in recent years and is currently very active in the field. A company has already emerged from this work (Neuralshift), originating from research developed within the group.

• What do you enjoy most about your day-to-day life at Técnico?

I still come to Técnico every day, as I have always done (except during my PhD and sabbatical periods), with the same enjoyment and enthusiasm. I continue to greatly enjoy working with colleagues and students (and especially learning from them) and contributing to advancing technology, essentially the same motivation that brought me here back in 1980. Técnico is now a much stronger institution: more international, more valued, and more widely recognized by society.

The pride of belonging to this institution for more than 45 years is something that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I have never had reason to complain about IST, my colleagues, or the hundreds of students I have worked with. I understand that not everyone may feel or say the same, but for me IST is truly the institution around which my life has revolved since adulthood, as was mentioned in a video prepared as part of a tribute made to me a few years ago. What I like most is precisely that, the fact that Técnico is my home away from home, the place that welcomed me when I was young and gave me the conditions to grow and to do what I enjoy most: researching and teaching.

• Who is Arlindo outside Técnico?

From what I said above, there isn’t actually that much more to add, since Técnico takes up a large part of my time. Throughout my life, I have practiced some sports quite seriously, and still do, mainly chess and tennis. I enjoy the mountains (both in summer and winter), sailing, and running a bit (though less and less these days). I also enjoy reading and writing, hobbies that fit very well with academic life.

I also like traveling, either to discover new places or to revisit locations where I have previously lived, especially California, the East Coast of the United States, and Japan. More recently, I had the opportunity to establish a collaboration with a university in Macau, which has allowed me to develop a deeper contact with Chinese civilization and culture. I was also invited to join the Board of Directors of Caixa Geral de Depósitos, where I have learned a great deal.

Otherwise, like everyone else, I enjoy spending time with my family (three of our daughters studied at IST) and, in the little free time I have, dedicating myself to futurology, something that is becoming increasingly difficult nowadays.

(image: Arlindo Oliveira)