Professor Rui Assis is undoubtedly one of the most emblematic figures in Engineering and Industrial Management in Portugal. The impact of his academic and human legacy continues to influence generations of engineers, managers and researchers.
Born in Lisbon on 11 November 1946, Rui Assis built a solid and multifaceted career that combines deep technical training with an unwavering commitment to education, research and the practical application of scientific knowledge to the business world.
Holding a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico, a degree in Mechanical Engineering, and bachelor’s degrees in Marine Machinery and Electrotechnics and Machinery, Professor Rui Assis distinguished himself early on for his ability to integrate multiple disciplines and perspectives within the field of engineering.
Throughout his professional career, he began as a Naval Engineering Officer on eight ships of the Merchant Navy. He later held management roles in Maintenance, Production and Marketing in several private companies. He launched the activities of AITEC – the first national business incubator and venture capital company – bringing together INESC and IPE as General Director, where he helped establish 14 companies in the field of information technologies. He also worked as a consultant for various industrial companies, a trainer in operational management courses, a collaborator of ISQ and the founder of PRODUTEC, his own company.
In the academic field, he served as an associate professor at Lusófona University, vice-president of EIGES (a research and development centre in industrial engineering), and a visiting lecturer at other higher education institutions in Portugal. His presence in classrooms and research laboratories left a lasting mark on countless students, many of whom now pursue successful careers in engineering, logistics, management and operations, while others have become successful entrepreneurs.
Beyond his teaching activity, Professor Rui Assis also distinguished himself as a researcher and author of numerous works. In addition to dozens of articles published in specialised engineering journals, he authored 12 books that have become reference manuals in areas such as production management, stochastic analysis, logistics, engineering economics and decision support using practical tools such as Excel. Among these, the three-volume work Complementos em Gestão da Produção com o Apoio do EXCEL stands out, synthesising decades of professional and pedagogical experience and presenting real cases and practical tools that facilitate the application of the concepts taught.
His scientific work has also received important recognition from the professional community. Among other distinctions, Professor Rui Assis was awarded twice the Engenheiro Monteiro Leite Prize by the Associação Portuguesa de Manutenção e Gestão de Ativos, in recognition of the originality, practical usefulness and value of two of his technical articles: Determinação do Factor de Restauro and Método de depreciação de um activo físico com base no seu valor de substituição.
In addition to his technical and academic contributions, Professor Assis’s career reflects a passion for continuous learning, including studies in the arts and scientific illustration. He has cultivated a deep appreciation for the visual arts, particularly photography and painting, areas in which he demonstrates the same sensitivity, rigour and creativity that marked his academic path. His relationship with art is not merely a hobby but a genuine form of personal expression, culminating in the organisation of an exhibition where he shared with the public his attentive view of reality, light, form and colour. This artistic dimension reveals a complete and humanistic personality, capable of uniting science and art, technique and emotion, analytical thinking and creativity.
Today, no longer present in the classroom, Rui Assis symbolises an impressive legacy: an extensive body of written work, generations of engineers and managers better prepared to face the challenges of the real world, and an academic and professional community enriched by decades of dedication. His professional life was not merely a sequence of roles and titles, but a genuine mission to transform the teaching, practice and understanding of engineering in Portugal.
May this tribute stand as recognition of his enduring impact—and as inspiration for all those who follow in his footsteps in the pursuit of knowledge, excellence and innovation.
