She will be the first Portuguese to lead this international society of reference in engineering and technology education
Professor Rosa Vasconcelos, Student Ombudsman at the University of Minho, will be the first Portuguese to preside over the IEEE Education Society, one of the leading international scientific societies in the areas of engineering and technology education. She has been a member of the board of this entity since 2015, was vice-president from 2022 and now becomes president-elect for the 2027-2028 biennium, assuming in 2029-2030 the leadership of a global community of academics, researchers and professionals dedicated to excellence in this field.
“I take on the new challenge with great honour and increased responsibility, hoping to contribute to a more inclusive, close and participatory society, and to develop innovative solutions to the current challenges of education and training in engineering and technology”, says Rosa Vasconcelos, who will succeed Diane Rover (Iowa State University, USA). Her election also values the four decades she has dedicated to areas such as engineering education, quality, pedagogical innovation, ethics, academic integrity, defence of students’ rights, social responsibility and international cooperation.
On the other hand, this distinction is also a global recognition of the quality of higher education and research developed in Portugal, adds the official. Rosa Vasconcelos will be the fourth woman and the fourth European person to preside over the IEEE Education Society, in a universe of 39 presidents over seven decades of history. This society is part of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world’s largest professional body dedicated to the advancement of technology for the benefit of humanity.
Rosa Maria de Castro Fernandes Vasconcelos holds her bachelor’s and doctorate degrees in Textile Engineering from UMinho, where she has been teaching since 1984. At this academy, she is a Student Ombudsman, Associate Professor at the Department of Textile Engineering and Researcher at the Center for Textile Science and Technology, having already chaired the Council of Engineering Courses and the Pedagogical Council of the School of Engineering. In addition, she chaired the Portuguese Network of Student Ombudsman until September 2026 and is coordinator of the Ibero-American Network of University Defenders, which brings together 83 institutions from 11 countries.
+Info: IEEE Education Society
