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Programs -
Organisation -
Technology
Timelines
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1837-1911
ORGANISATION
Polytechnic Academy
Polytechnic Academia is created in Porto with the mission of training engineers, naval officers, pilots, traders, farmers, factory directors and artists. This was the precursor of FEUP and FCUP.
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TECHNOLOGY
HInvention of the Tabulating Machine
The Tabulating Machine, developed by Herman Hollerith for the 1890 US census, was the first of its kind, providing pioneering technology for automatic data processing that was subsequently explored by companies such as IBM. The first machine to use punched cards for data entry.
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ORGANISATION
Creation of University of Porto
University of Porto is formally created with the Engineering Faculty next to the Science Faculty.
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TECHNOLOGY
CIBM
IBM is founded in the US (initially with a different name). IBM significantly shaped the computing industry with pioneering innovations in hardware and software.
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1915-1926
ORGANISATION
Creation of the Technical Faculty
Technical Faculty is created as a result of the new autonomy of the School of Engineering.
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ORGANISATION
FEUP receives current name
The Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP) is given its current name, succeeding to the Technical Faculty.
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TECHNOLOGY
ATuring Machine
The Turing Machine, conceived by Alan Turing in the UK, provided a mathematical description of a simple device capable of arbitrary computations.
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ORGANISATION
FEUP changes location
FEUP changes location from the building next to Leões to Rua dos Bragas.
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TECHNOLOGY
CHP
HP is founded in the US by Bill Hewlett and David Packard, both of whom graduated in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1935.
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TECHNOLOGY
ISAs We May Think
“As We May Think”, an essay by Vannevar Bush, anticipating many aspects of the emerging information society.
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TECHNOLOGY
AThe von Neumann Architecture
The von Neumann architecture, developed by John von Neumann at the University of Pennsylvania, became the foundational architecture for most modern computers.
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TECHNOLOGY
HTransistor
Invention of the transistor, by William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain at Bell Labs (recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physics 1956). Transistors revolutionized computer architecture by enabling smaller, more efficient designs, replacing vacuum tubes.
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TECHNOLOGY
MBit
Claude Shannon first used the word "bit" in his seminal 1948 paper "A Mathematical Theory of Communication", attributing its origin to John W. Tukey, at Bell Labs, in 1947, as a contraction of "binary information digit".
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TECHNOLOGY
PLEDSAC
Developed by Maurice Wilkes’ team (Turing Award 1967) for the Electronic Delay Storage Computer (EDSAC) at the University of Cambridge, UK.
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TECHNOLOGY
AITuring Test
Introduced by Alan Turing, the Turing Test proposes a criterion for determining whether a machine is capable of thinking.
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TECHNOLOGY
AISNARC (Stochastic Neural Analog Reinforcement Calculator)
A hardware-based (vacuum tubes) neural net that learned to solve mazes using reinforcement learning.
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TECHNOLOGY
AIDartmouth Workshop
Considered the birth of AI as a field, was organized by John McCarthy (Turing Award 1971), Marvin Minsky (Turing Award 1969), Nathaniel Rochester, and Claude Shannon.
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TECHNOLOGY
HIBM 608
The first fully transistor-based electronic computer commercially marketed.
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TECHNOLOGY
PLFortran
Formula Translation, developed by a team led by John Backus (Turing Award 1977) at IBM. The first high-level programming language and compiler, aimed at scientific computing.
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TECHNOLOGY
HIntegrated Circuit
Jack Kilby (Nobel Prize in Physics 2000) at Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce at Fairchild Semiconductor independently developed the integrated circuit (IC), which allowed multiple transistors to be placed on a single chip, drastically reducing the size and cost of computers.
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TECHNOLOGY
PLLISP
LISP (List Processing) created by John McCarthy (Turing Award 1971). Designed for AI research, it introduced many concepts in computer science, such as tree data structures, automatic storage management, dynamic typing, and the use of recursion.
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TECHNOLOGY
PLALGOL
ALGOL 58 and ALGOL 60 had a profound influence on later structured programming languages, including Pascal, C, and Java.
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TECHNOLOGY
PLCOBOL
Emphasized English-like syntax to be accessible to professionals outside of the computing field.
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TECHNOLOGY
MFirst computer installed in Portugal
First computer installed in Portugal – a National Elliot 803-B, at Banco Pinto de Magalhães, Porto.
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1962-1986
TECHNOLOGY
MScientific Computing Center at Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
Scientific Computing Center at Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, equipped with an IBM-1620 computer that was made available to the academic community.
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TECHNOLOGY
PLBASIC
BASIC (Beginners’ All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College, US, to enable students in fields other than science and mathematics to use computers.
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TECHNOLOGY
AIELIZA
First big advance in natural language processing, developed by Joseph Weizenbaum at MIT.
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TECHNOLOGY
PLSimula 67
Successor of Simula I, developed by Ole-Johan Dahl and Kristen Nygaard at the Norwegian Computing Center in Oslo. It introduces the concepts of objects, classes, inheritance, and subclasses making it the first object-oriented programming (OOP) language.
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1968-1985
ORGANISATION
Automatic Calculation Laboratory at FCUP
LACA - Automatic Calculation Lab at FCUP. Arrival of the first digital computer to the UP (NCR Elliot 4100), becoming the first Portuguese university to have a computer.
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TECHNOLOGY
SEFirst Software Engineering Conference
First Software Engineering Conference, promoted by NATO.
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1969-1990
TECHNOLOGY
NCARPANET
Considered the first version of the Internet, with packet-switching technology.
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1970-1990
ORGANISATION
FEUP's Calculation/Computation Center
FEUP's Calculation/Computation Center. Arrival of the first computers to FEUP: NCR Elliott 803 B; HP 2114B. CICA's predecessor.
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TECHNOLOGY
HIntel’s 4004
Intel’s 4004 (precursor to the Intel 8080), architected by Marcian “Ted” Hoff.
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TECHNOLOGY
PLSmalltalk
Further developed the object-oriented programming ideas introduced in Simula 67, influencing the design of many modern languages like Java, C++, and Python.
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TECHNOLOGY
PLC
By Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs (Turing Award 1983). It became one of the most influential programming languages for its efficiency, portability, and flexibility.
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TECHNOLOGY
PLProlog
Created around 1972 by Alain Colmerauer with Philippe Roussel and Robert Kowalski, with origins in artificial intelligence and other fields.
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TECHNOLOGY
NCEthernet
By Robert Metcalfe at XEROX PARC (Turing Award 2022), currently used in wired local area networks.
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TECHNOLOGY
GMGUI
The first computer with a Graphical User Interface (GUI): the Xerox Alto by XEROX PARC.
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PROGRAMS
MComputers I and II
Creation of the first curricular units dedicated to the study of Digital Computer Architecture, called "Computers I and II", in the Digital Systems option of the 5th year of the Bachelor in Electrical Engineering (LEE).
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TECHNOLOGY
NCTCP/IP
Vinton G. Cerf and Robert E. Kahn (Turing Awards 2004) led the design and implementation of the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), the fundamental protocols for the Internet.
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TECHNOLOGY
ISSQL
Created by Donald D. Chamberlin and Raymond F. Boyce at IBM, SQL became the standard language for managing and manipulating relational databases.
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1975-1988
PROGRAMS
MDigital Systems and Computers
Option of "Digital Systems and Computers" at the Bachelor in Electrical Engineering (LEE).
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TECHNOLOGY
MInformatics Engineering Program at UNL
The New University of Lisbon launches the first higher-education program in Informatics Engineering in Portugal, initially designed as a 2-year program.
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TECHNOLOGY
MFirst "Licenciatura" in Informatics in Portugal
The University of Minho launches the first bachelor's degree in Informatics in Portugal.
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TECHNOLOGY
CApple Inc.
Founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in the US, marking a crucial development in personal computing.
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TECHNOLOGY
SPRSA
By Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman at MIT (Turing Awards 2002).
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TECHNOLOGY
NCFiber-optic communication system
By General Telephone and Electronics (GTE) in Long Beach, US. Currently used in the backbone of the Internet for high-speed, long range, communications.
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TECHNOLOGY
ARISC
Cocke's team at IBM produced the IBM 801, showcasing for the first time a RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture.
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TECHNOLOGY
CSilicon Graphics (SGI)
Founded in the US. It was instrumental in the development of high-performance computing, 3D graphics, and visualization technologies, including a Graphics Library (GL) precursor to OpenGL.
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1983-1985
PROGRAMS
MMaster in Digital Systems and Computers
MSCD - Master in Digital Systems and Computers. Had only one edition, being replaced with MEEC, with a broader approach.
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TECHNOLOGY
H/GMApple Macintosh
The release of the first successful mass-market personal computer with a GUI.
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TECHNOLOGY
HTransputers
Released by Inmos in the UK - pioneering microprocessors intended for parallel computing.
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1985-2001
ORGANISATION
UP's Informatics' Center
CIUP - UP's Informatics' Center, at FCUP installations, succeeding LACA. Was responsible for the connection to the scientific calculation network through RCTS/FCCN.
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TECHNOLOGY
MBachelor in Applied Mathematics - Specialization in Computer Science
By the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP).
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ORGANISATION
Porto's Systems and Computers Engineering Institute
INESC - Porto's Systems and Computers Engineering Institute (now called INESC TEC).
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TECHNOLOGY
MFCCN (Foundation for National Scientific Computing)
Created (initially with a different name). Played a key role in the expansion of the Internet and Web in Portugal, namely through the RCTS (Network Science, Technology, and Society).
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TECHNOLOGY
SECapability Maturity Model (CMM)
At the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) under the direction of Watts Humphrey, providing a structured approach to process improvement for software development organizations.
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1987-2009
PROGRAMS
MMaster in Electrical and Computer Engineering
MEEC - Master in Electrical and Computer Engineering, including initially a specialization area in Industrial Informatics.
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ORGANISATION
Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science Laboratory
LIACC - Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science Laboratory. Partnership between FCUP / FEUP / FEP.
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1988-2001
PROGRAMS
MBranch of Informatics and Systems (IS)
Branch of Informatics and Systems (IS) on the Bachelor in Electrical and Computer Engineering (LEEC).
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ORGANISATION
FEUP Data Communication Network
FEUPnet - Communication Network of Data from FEUP, establishing a connection to the Internet through a connection between FEUP and CIUP (9.6 Kbps).
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1990-2013
ORGANISATION
Correia de Araújo Informatics Center at FEUP
CICA - Correia de Araújo Informatics Center at FEUP, after Calculation/Computation Center.
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TECHNOLOGY
PLHaskell 1.0
A general-purpose, statically-typed, purely functional programming language with type inference and lazy evaluation.
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ORGANISATION
Creation of departments at FEUP
Creation of departments at FEUP, including the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computers (DEEC).
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PROGRAMS
MErasmus at DEEC
Start of the Erasmus Program on DEEC (FEUP)
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TECHNOLOGY
OSLinux
Developed by Linus Torvalds and using GNU libraries from Richard Stallman, it became one of the most important operating systems.
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PROGRAMS
EICMeeting to discuss the creation of LEIC
Meeting at the Boega Hotel in Vila Nova de Cerveira on January 8th and 9th (1993) where the creation of LEIC was discussed. Participants: Raul Vidal, João Falcão e Cunha, Ademar Aguiar, João Pascoal Faria, José Correia, João Vasco Ranito, José Manuel Moreira.
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1994-2008
PROGRAMS
EICBachelor in Informatics and Computing Engineering
LEIC - Bachelor in Informatics and Computing Engineering (5 years, pre-Bolonha). Proponents: Raul Vidal and João Falcão and Cunha. Directors: José Marques dos Santos (1994-2001), Raul Vidal (2001-2008). Secretariat: Fátima Araújo, Mónica Faria.
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TECHNOLOGY
SPSSL
An encryption-based Internet security protocol, first developed by Netscape in 1995, the predecessor to the modern TLS encryption used today in HTTPS.
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TECHNOLOGY
ISYahoo! Directory
Launched by Yahoo!. It became the first popular Web Directory.
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TECHNOLOGY
MAmazon
Founded by Jeff Bezos in the US. It would become the world’s largest e-commerce marketplace.
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TECHNOLOGY
PLJava
Developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems, emphasizing the principle of "Write Once, Run Anywhere" thanks to its Java Virtual Machine (JVM).
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TECHNOLOGY
PLJavaScript
Developed by Brendan Eich at Netscape, to enable dynamic content on web pages, fundamentally changing web development.
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TECHNOLOGY
SEUML
By Grady Booch, Ivar Jacobson, and James Rumbaugh, at Rational Software (subsequently bought by IBM).
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1996-2003
ORGANISATION
FEUP's Information System
SiFEUP - FEUP's first Information System, SIGARRA's predecessor.
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1996-2009
PROGRAMS
MMaster in Multimedia Technology
MTM - Master in Multimedia Technology, precursor of the Master in Multimedia (MM). Director: Eurico Carrapatoso.
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1996-2006
PROGRAMS
MMaster in Artificial Intelligence and Computing
MIAC - Master in Artificial Intelligence and Computing (FEUP/FEP/FCUP). Coordinators: Eugénio Oliveira (FEUP), Pavel Brazdil (FEP), Nelma Moreira (FCUP).
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TECHNOLOGY
AIIBM’s DeepBlue beats Kasparov
At that time, Kasparov was the reigning world chess champion.
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TECHNOLOGY
NCBluetooth
Currently the dominant protocol used in wireless personal area networks.
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TECHNOLOGY
HFirst quantum computer (2-qubit)
By Isaac Chuang (Los Alamos National Laboratory), Neil Gershenfeld (MIT), and Mark Kubinec (University of California at Berkeley).
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TECHNOLOGY
CPayPal
Founded in the US (initially as Confinity), pioneering digital payments.
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PROGRAMS
EICLEIC Reflection and Assessment Days
JLEIC'1999 - Refletion and Assessment Days about LEIC, made in Vairão, on the 6th of October of 1999, during the fifth anniversary of the creation of the course and also the first graduates from it.
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TECHNOLOGY
NCConcept of the Internet of Things (IoT)
Introduced by Kevin Ashton at the MIT.
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TECHNOLOGY
CAlibaba Group
Founded by Jack Ma in China. Revolutionized online commerce in China, with increasing global reach.
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PROGRAMS
MBachelor in Journalism and Communication Science
LJCC - Bachelor in Journalism and Communication Science (FLUP/FEUP/FBAUP/FEP), the predecessor of the present LCC - Bachelor in Communication Sciences.
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ORGANISATION
FEUP's Junior Student Company
JuniFEUP - FEUP's Junior Student Company
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TECHNOLOGY
COutsystems
By Paulo Rosado - the oldest startup with Portuguese DNA to become a unicorn (in 2018).
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2002-2008
ORGANISATION
DEEC's Informatics Section
DEEC's Informatics Section, after the previous Computers and Digital Systems Section, DEI's precursor. Coordinators: José Marques dos Santos (Jan 2002-Set 2002) and Eugénio Oliveira (Set 2002-2008).
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PROGRAMS
EICLEIC's first evaluation
LEIC's first evaluation by the Commission of Evaluation designated by Fundação das Universidades Portuguesas (FUP). LEIC ends up being classified as the number 1 in ranking among similar courses in Portugal.
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PROGRAMS
EICLEIC Evaluation by the National Board of Engineers
Evaluation and accreditation of LEIC by the National Board of Engineers (OE).
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ORGANISATION
SIGARRA
SIGARRA - Information System from Porto University, result of the SiFEUP expansion to all UP's entities.
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2003-2009
PROGRAMS
MMaster in Informatics Engineering
MEI - Master in Informatics Engineering. It was extinguished with the creation of MIEIC as a way to join the Bolonha process. Director: Eugénio Oliveira.
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PROGRAMS
EICLEIC Reflection Days
JLEIC'2004 - Refletion and Assessment Days about LEIC on October 21st and 22nd 2004 at FEUP, on the 10th anniversary of the Bachelor. Organization led by António Augusto Sousa.
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TECHNOLOGY
C/ISFacebook
Marks the emergence of social media together with YouTube, Twitter, etc.
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PROGRAMS
MBachelor in Information Science
LCI - Bachelor of Arts in Information Science (FLUP/FEUP). Director: Maria Elisa Cerveira (FLUP)
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2004-2009
PROGRAMS
MMaster in Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Systems
MIASI - Master in Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Systems (FEUP/FEP). Director: Eugénio Oliveira.
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ORGANISATION
FEUP's Informatics Alumni Association
AlumniEI FEUP - FEUP's former Informatics Students Association. Presidents: Pedro Castro Henriques (2005-10), Rui Neves, (2010-2017), Maria João Miranda (2017-2019), Jorge Teixeira (2019-21), Marina Camilo (2021-23), José Carlos Coutinho (2023-).
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2005-2008
PROGRAMS
MPhD in Informatics Engineering
PRDEI - PhD in Informatics Engineering. Director: Eugénio Oliveira. Secretariado: Nina Amaral.
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TECHNOLOGY
CYouTube
An online video-sharing platform headquartered in the US, founded by three former PayPal employees—Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim—in February 2005, and bought by Google in 2006.
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ORGANISATION
Informatics student group at FEUP
NIAEFEUP - FEUP's Informatics student group.
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TECHNOLOGY
AI/HDARPA Grand Challenge
Autonomous driving over 132 miles of desert terrain completed by five teams.
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ORGANISATION
Multimedia and Graphic Computation student group at FEUP
NCGM - Multimedia and Graphic Computation student group at FEUP.
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2006-2021
PROGRAMS
EICIntegrated Master in Informatics and Computing Engineering
MIEIC - Integrated Master in Informatics and Computing Engineering (5 years post-Bolonha), after LEIC (and MEIC). Directors: Raul Vidal (2006-2008), António Augusto Sousa (2008-2014), João Pascoal Faria (2014-2021). Secretariat: Mónica Faria, Maria Idalina Silva.
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PROGRAMS
MDoctoral Program in Informatics Engineering
PRODEI - Doctoral Program in Informatics Engineering, after PRDEI. Directors: Eugénio Oliveira (2007-2018), Carlos Soares (2018-2023), Rui Maranhão (2023-). Secretaries: Sandra Reis.
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TECHNOLOGY
H/OSiPhone
An important milestone in the smartphone revolution, featuring the iOS (formerly iPhone OS) mobile operating system.
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PROGRAMS
MDoctoral Program in Computer Science
MAPi - Doctoral Program in Computer Science (UM/UA/UP). Director FEUP: Gabriel David (2007-2023), Carlos Baquero (2023-).
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PROGRAMS
MMaster in Information Science
MCI - Master in Information Science. Directors: Manuel Matos, Gabriel David, Lucas Soares, Carla Teixeira Lopes.
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PROGRAMS
MMaster in Multimedia
MM - Master in Multimedia (FEUP/FBAUP/FCUP/FEP), after the old MTM. Directors: Rui Rodrigues and Jorge Barbosa. Secretary: Marisa Silva.
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ORGANISATION
Department of Informatics Engineering
DEI - Informatics Engineering Department. Directors: Raul Moreira Vidal (2008-2017), João Paiva Cardoso (2017-).
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TECHNOLOGY
OSAndroid
Providing an open and versatile platform for mobile devices, greatly expanding smartphone accessibility and customization.
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ORGANISATION
Software Engineering student group at FEUP
GEES - Software Engineering Students Group.
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TECHNOLOGY
CFarfetch
The first startup with Portuguese DNA to become a unicorn (in 2015) – founded by José Neves.
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PROGRAMS
MDoctoral Program in Digital Media
PDMD - Doctoral Program in Digital Media. Director: António Coelho.
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TECHNOLOGY
HiPad
Launched by Apple. Played a key role in popularizing the tablet category.
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TECHNOLOGY
AI/HAtlas
The most dynamic humanoid robot to date, developed by Boston Dynamics.
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PROGRAMS
EICJLEIC'2014
JLEIC’2014 - Commemoration of LEIC's 20th anniversary on November 7th, 8th and 9th 2014 at FEUP. A tree was planted in FEUP's garden. Organization led by Carla Teixeira Lopes.
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ORGANISATION
University of Porto Digital
UPdigital - Digital University of Porto. Its mission is to design, manage and provide TIC services to the UP.
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TECHNOLOGY
PLRust
Developed by a team led by Graydon Hoare at Mozilla Research, with a focus on memory safety.
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TECHNOLOGY
COpenAI
Founded in the US. It became one of the leading AI research organizations, aiming to ensure that AI benefits all of humanity.
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TECHNOLOGY
CPorto Tech Hub Association
Created in Porto (initially by Blip, Critical Software, and Farfetch), as a not-for-profit association of tech companies that aims to promote and grow Porto as a global technological center of excellence.
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PROGRAMS
MMaster in Software Engineering
MESW - Master in Software Engineering. Directors: Ana Paiva (2016-2023), João Pascoal Faria (2023-). Secretariat: Maria Idalina Silva, Ana Santos.
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TECHNOLOGY
AIAlphaGo beats Lee Sedol
From Google DeepMind, in the game of Go using deep learning techniques.
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TECHNOLOGY
SPGDPR - General Data Protection Regulation
Formally adopted by the EU, giving EU citizens more control over their personal data.
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PROGRAMS
EICMIEIC.OnBoard
MIEIC.OnBoard (later Informatics.OnBoard) peer mentoring program. Coordinators: António Araújo (2019-2022), Bruno Lima (2019-), João Bispo (2022-).
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TECHNOLOGY
HGoogle Sycamore
Google announced that their quantum computer, Sycamore, achieved quantum supremacy by performing a specific task much faster than the world's best conventional supercomputers.
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PROGRAMS
MMaster in Data Science and Engineering
MECD - Master in Data Science and Engineering. Directors: João Mendes Moreira (2020-2023), José Moura Borges (2023-). Secretariat: Ana Santos.
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PROGRAMS
EICBachelor in Informatics and Computing Engineering
L.EIC - Bachelor in Informatics and Computing Engineering (3 years, FEUP/FCUP). Directors: João Pascoal Faria (2021 - Jul 2022), Pedro Brandão (2021 - Jul 2022), Ana Paula Rocha (Jul 2022 - Nov 2022), André Restivo (Nov 2022 - May 2023), Ricardo Rocha (Jul 2022-), Rosaldo Rossetti (May 2023-). Secretariat: Maria Idalina Silva (- Jun 2022), Catarina Castro, Muriel Silva.
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PROGRAMS
EICMaster in Informatics and Computing Engineering
M.EIC - Master in Informatics and Computing Engineering. Directors: João Pascoal Faria (2021 - May 2023), Rui Rodrigues (May 2023). Secretariat: Catarina Castro.
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PROGRAMS
MBachelor in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science
L:IACD - Bachelor in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (FCUP/FEUP). Directors: Alípio Jorge (FCUP), Luís Paulo Reis (FEUP).
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TECHNOLOGY
AIChatGPT
ChatGPT by OpenAI was launched to the public, generating an explosion of interest in Generative AI.
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PROGRAMS
MMaster in Artificial Intelligence
M.IA - Master in Artificial Intelligence (FEUP/FCUP). Directors: João Paiva Cardoso (FEUP), João Pedro Pedroso (FCUP).
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TECHNOLOGY
AIEU AI Act approved
EU AI Act (EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act) was approved by the European Parliament on 13 March 2024.
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PROGRAMS
EICEIC30 - 30 years of Informatics and Computing Engineering
Commemoration of 30 years of Informatics and Computing Engineering at FEUP.
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