Menu
Founded on February 6, 1990, by a group of enterprising students, JUNITEC built the bridge between the student community of Instituto Superior Técnico and the Portuguese business world. Throughout its existence, it has been recognized with several national and international awards for the various engineering projects it has developed.
With the goal of valuing the university students, JUNITEC provides a unique work experience, where entrepreneurship, dedication, and friendship complement each other perfectly. This working environment allows it to make the most of its members’ potential, which in turn results in ever better performance.
JUNITEC currently has over 60 active members and an extensive alumni network, and is the current holder of JE Europe’s international award for “Europe’s Most Promising Junior Enterprise” 2021.
To carry out entrepreneurial projects with excellence and commitment, with a high impact on society, academia, and the business fabric.
To deliver high-impact projects carried out by young, entrepreneurial minds at IST, training the best national talent and the leaders of our future.
Learn.
Innovate.
Achieve.
When we came up with the idea of creating a student structure that we called JUNITEC, we had in mind something that would be a milestone for the future, training the differentiation factors of our economy, with the focus on various themes such as leadership, high performance teams, entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology.
Creating a space that would be inspiring, where the curiosity to learn and experience would develop, where teamwork would be the basis for development and creativity. These would be the ingredients to achieve a world-class organization.
JUNITEC today is at the forefront, and personally it was worth it, as it continues to create, to innovate without limits and constitutes an unparalleled reference in its medium worldwide.
JUNITEC is an organization where we have the ability to achieve, where we can serve society and our colleagues. JUNITEC gave us the ability to always ask "why not?", gave us confidence in our engineering skills, problem solving, a high quality and complete management experience. It was worth it!
A colaboração na JUNITEC ao longos dos cinco anos do curso foi determinante para compreender os desafios da gestão e operação de uma empresa, um complemento chave ao conhecimento técnico da licenciatura. Posso dizer que, não fosse essa experiência, não teria iniciado juntamente com três colegas do IST, o projecto empresarial de sucesso que é a Innovagency.
My participation and subsequent leadership role in JUNITEC were absolutely critical in defining my career path. It was through JUNITEC that I gained an initial understanding, and much curiosity to learn more, about innovation and entrepreneurship, the areas that have been defining to my academic career.
JUNITEC stands out as a group of students passionate about creating impactful technological projects, all connected by our three essential pillars: Learn, Innovate, Achieve. Year after year, our goal is to showcase the impact that young talent can have on companies and society, while providing all the tools necessary for our members to grow not only on a personal level, but also technically and professionally.
It was at JUNITEC that I had the opportunity to create my first professional projects, and to stimulate and nurture initiative and leadership characteristics. But most of all, it was also where I met and worked with people who inspired me as a young aspiring engineer and manager, who I have remained friends with to this day.
A oportunidade de ajudar a fundar a JUNITEC foi o momento mais determinante do meu percurso de empreendedor. Foi na JUNITEC que aprendi a resolver problemas difíceis do mundo real criando equipas fantásticas. E, essencialmente, aprendi a errar rápido, um dos princípios fundamentais dos Unbabel Labs, a equipa que hoje lidero.
The collaboration in JUNITEC throughout the five years of the course was determinant to understand the challenges of managing and operating a company, a key complement to the technical knowledge of the degree. I can say that, had it not been for this experience, I would not have started, together with three colleagues from IST, the successful business project that is Innovagency.
The opportunity to help found JUNITEC was the most defining moment of my entrepreneurial journey. It was at JUNITEC that I learned how to solve difficult real-world problems by creating great teams. And essentially, I learned how to make mistakes quickly, one of the fundamental principles of Unbabel Labs, the team that I lead today.
JUNITEC was founded on 6 February 1990, being the oldest Junior Company in Portugal. It was based on the values of entrepreneurship, innovation, and learning, that JUNITEC was founded and is still running today. Over the years, the members of JUNITEC have sought to maintain these pillars in order to positively impact society with their projects and actions. The dedication of several generations of JUNITEC members and management is mirrored in the recognition and growing success of our organization.
Foundation of JUNITEC
JUNITEC was founded by five students from Instituto Superior Técnico, Joaquim Viegas, José Rui Felizardo, Sérgio Carvalho, Pedro Conceição and Francisco Veloso, with a focus on entrepreneurship and innovation, thus outlining the pillars of Portugal’s first Junior Enterprise.
In this year, Francisco Veloso, Pedro Conceição and Paulo Dimas joined the board, becoming co-founders of JUNITEC.
JUNITEC is recognized with the Promindústria Award in the Business Ideas Competition, starting a prestigious career.
The television program Janelas Virtuais, entirely produced by JUNITEC and broadcasted on TVI, won the International Label Technique award, confirming the growing success of the young Junior Enterprise that was now becoming recognized on the international stage.
The RETINA project aimed at the study of the retina of the human eye and its image processing, received 1st prize in the European Contest for Young Scientists.The RETINA project aimed at the study of the retina of the human eye and its image processing, received 1st prize in the European Contest for Young Scientists.
JUNITEC becomes a founding member of JADE Portugal.
The Strato Power project, a study of a high altitude wind turbine, took JUNITEC to the final of the Richard Branson award. The same project was also recognized by JADE Portugal with the Innovative Project of the Year award.
25th Anniversary of JUNITEC. JUNITEC is again recognized with the national award of JADE Portugal for Innovative Project of the Year.
First edition of TecStorm, a 28-hour hackathon aimed at developing innovative ideas that solve society’s problems. The event took place at the Instituto Superior Técnico, and was attended by 28 higher education students.
The first JUNITEC startup, Clynx, focused on improving the physiotherapy experience through gamification, was distinguished as one of the best 25 startups in the European Innovation Academy.
The 2nd edition of TecStorm took place at the Pavilion of Knowledge, with the presence of several companies and the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
JUNITEC is a winner in three categories at the jeniAL Awards, the biggest event of the Portuguese Junior Movement. Being recognized as the Most Promising Junior Company, Most Innovative Junior Company and Project of the Year.
Clynx and MyNutriScan, two startups founded at JUNITEC were present at WebSummit’19. The startup Clynx was awarded at GovTech, a contest promoted by the Government to support startups nationwide.
JUNITEC received its first European award attributed by Junior Enterprises Europe, being recognized as the Most Enterprising Junior Company in Europe. It was also recognized as the Most Innovative Junior Enterprise in Portugal at the jeniAL Awards.
JUNITEC was recognized as the Most Promising Junior Enterprise in Europe by Junior Enterprises Europe.
The 5th Edition of TecStorm took place, this year in a fully digital version.
JUNITEC wins 4 awards at the jeniAL Awards: Junior Enterprise of the Year, Junior Most Innovative Enterprise, Junior Most Socially Responsible Enterprise and Project of the Year.
The 6th edition of TecStorm took place at the Champalimaud Foundation and was marked by the creation of a new competition category in the health area.
First edition of Unicorn day, an event that marks the end of the Innovation Hub program.
