For the second consecutive year, UT Austin Portugal offered its community in Portugal two courses with the seal of the Texas Engineering Executive Education of the Cockrell School of Engineering (TxEEE). Between May and June, TxEEE rolled out two exciting training programs specifically designed for participants affiliated with Portuguese institutions: the first course was dedicated to data analysis in the energy sector – with a special focus on the Portuguese reality – and the second one, also adapted to the Portuguese context, steered towards entrepreneurship.
“Focus on Portugal – Energy Data Analytics”, taught by Dr. Joshua Rhodes, a research scientist at the Webber Energy Group and lecturer at the Cockrell School of Engineering, was held on Zoom over three two-hour sessions Participants benefited from a mix of different teaching methods, got to get to grips with Linux and Python, and were encouraged to analyse real world-projects in order to be able to explore different data sets relating to energy to extract insights, and make predictions.
More than 30 people registered for this course, exceeding the number of places on offer.
The course “From Portugal to the World: Innovation-to-Business Journey” was led by Mitch Jacobson – Executive Director of Austin Technology incubator at The University of Texas – and Cam Houser, Founder of Actionwork, Entrepreneur Educator, Program Developer, and Facilitator. Entrepreneurship education has been a hallmark of the Program since its inception back in 2007 and even if in Phase 3 there weren’t as many entrepreneurship support initiatives as in the previous two phases, the Program remain committed to finding ways to equip its community with the skills and tools to bridge the gap between the research lab and the marketplace.
Over the course of four classes, with office and mentorship hours as a complement, participants were challenged to think about “what makes an entrepreneur successful?”, “where do the good ideas come from?” and “what constitutes a sound business model?” Once again, all the vacancies available for cTxEEE’s customised training were quickly filled up.
Among the evaluations left by the participants were the focus, the simplicity of the message, and the opportunity for interaction during office hours. “This allowed us to discuss topics in greater detail and bring complementary topics into the discussion,” said Hugo Oliveira, one of the participants. “The best aspect of the course is the opportunity to learn directly from experienced entrepreneurs and educators, like Mitch Jacobson and Cam Houser, through engaging lectures and hands-on learning”, highlighted Luís Teixeira, also participant in the course,
After the summer break, the Program will be announcing a series of new courses dealing with energy transition challenges and science’s journey towards innovation.
