Fábio Dias completed his Master’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2024. Throughout his journey at Técnico, he lived away from home, completed internships, participated in the Erasmus programme, joined the TLMoto team, and was recognized several times for his academic merit. In an interview with DEEC, he shared a bit of his path.

“I would say that what sparked my interest in electrical engineering was perhaps the ‘and computers’ part,” he highlights. Although he shares a strong liking for programming and even considered pursuing a degree related to computer science, he ended up applying to the Bachelor’s in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Técnico as his first choice. Throughout the course, his enthusiasm for electronics grew, something also influenced by José Epifânio da Franca and Marcelino dos Santos, both DEEC professors, whom the alumnus highlights for conveying their passion for the field through teaching.

I’ve always enjoyed working with circuits, it’s my greatest passion within electrical and computer engineering.

Fábio Dias, alumnus of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Alongside the course, he began taking internships early on, something that helped him not only develop engineering skills but also better define his professional choices. After a summer internship at E-Redes, he interned at UAVision, a company specializing in drone production, where he gained knowledge on data collection and storage, as well as communication protocols—both between system components and between the system and its sensors (such as distance sensors). He later applied this knowledge in the development of TLMoto prototypes.

“Being part of the team was a very interesting challenge,” says Fábio Dias, who contributed to the development of two prototypes — the TLM03e and TLM04e — and served as head of the electrical systems department. In addition to hard skills, he also improved his communication, management, and planning skills, which he highlights as having contributed significantly to his professional development. On the other hand, the hours dedicated to the project also led to friendships: “In the department where I currently work, I collaborate with a friend I met at TLMoto — so I think about the motorbike often,” he notes.

Beyond the friendships he formed through the team, Fábio Dias emphasizes that he also created many lasting bonds through his Erasmus experience in the Netherlands. During his master’s studies, he attended Delft University of Technology, chosen for its strong focus on electronics research.

Through the experience in Delft, I grew as a person, met new people, was exposed to different cultures, and made lots of friends from other countries… Doing Erasmus is a very short but very intense experience.

Fábio Dias, alumnus of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Studying abroad at this university was one of his goals from the very first year of his bachelor’s degree, and he therefore decided early on to focus on achieving strong academic results—one of the selection criteria for the programme, given the limited number of places. “I loved being in Delft and, in a sense, always felt more exposed to challenges and to life itself,” says Fábio Dias, who, apart from his experience abroad, was also a student living away from home during both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He notes that although he lived relatively far away, without a support network in Lisbon, he visited his family frequently during the course—feeling the impact of distance more intensely while in the Netherlands. Although he had to adapt to a new culture, he sees the experience as highly positive, providing an opportunity to connect with other students who were also living far from home.

Her stay in Delft also enabled her to participate in a project whose goal was to stimulate neurons, using electrodes, in order to create images for blind people. Neuron stimulation is a rapid process that cannot be repeated immediately, as the cells need time to “rest.” For this reason, the researchers developed a system intended to stimulate other neurons using the same stimulating circuit that had been used for the initial cell. “The idea was to try to create a circuit—what we might call a multiplexer—that would select a stimulation channel, but do so in a way that would not compromise the system’s efficiency,” she explains.

It was also during this period that Fábio Dias began working on PIC2, a course-integration project that later became the foundation for his master’s thesis, “Ultra-Compact Sigma-Delta Modulator for Organ-on-Chip Systems”, supervised by professors Jorge Fernandes and Diogo Caetano.

My circuit is an analog-to-digital converter—very small, low-power, and offering sufficient resolution for the application.

Fábio Dias, alumnus of Electrical and Computer Engineering

This converter is part of the UNLOOC project, which involves the participation of INESC-ID and INESC-MN. The project aims to contribute to the development of organs-on-chip—devices that replicate organs on a chip, meaning at a scale so small that the system can represent two lungs using a device the size of a credit card. This replication requires interaction with fluids, from which data must be collected—such as temperature, pH, and the detection of foreign particles, among others—through sensors.

The converter, developed by the alumnus, digitizes the data collected in analog form by the various sensors, making the information available for analysis. This supports the system’s decision-making and enables the large-scale use of these organs-on-chip. It is the smallest converter of its kind. “It is the bridge between the physical and digital worlds,” he states.

It was through this work that he won the most recent edition of the Prof. Luís Vidigal Award and achieved third place in the Master Thesis Award – Fraunhofer Portugal Challenge 2025. In addition to these distinctions, Fábio Dias also received two excellence diplomas, two merit diplomas, and an honorable mention within the scope of the E.Awards 2023—recognition that reflects his dedication throughout his time at Técnico. Although he acknowledges the high level of personal demand that drives his desire “to be better and always do more,” he reinforces that his results were influenced by the routines he developed during the course: “I’ve always believed that there’s time for everything if we organize ourselves—and I always tried to do so,” he emphasizes, highlighting the importance of setting aside time to be with loved ones, listen to music, or even watch a sunset after a day of work.

I gradually self-regulated. In the first year, I began adopting study methods… There has to be constant follow-up of the material, maintaining a routine, going to lectures and doubt sessions even when we’re tired or sleepy.

Fábio Dias, alumnus of Electrical and Computer Engineering

He currently works at Synopsys, where he is responsible for the modeling and simulation of circuits used in the packaging and unpackaging of data in digital communication channels—applied in devices such as mobile equipment and USB cables. In the future, he hopes to pursue a PhD and work in education, reflecting the value he places on the learning process developed throughout his academic journey.