This year, World Materials Day was celebrated on 4–5 November at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Beira Interior (UBI), bringing together students, researchers, academic staff, and industry professionals for two days dedicated to advancing and appreciating materials science and engineering.

The programme opened with a thematic workshop on Functional Materials, featuring contributions from Luís Pereira (AlmaScience / NOVA School of Science and Technology), Carlos Costa (University of Minho), and Vítor Sencadas (University of Aveiro). The workshop was followed by an institutional presentation from the Portuguese Materials Society (SPM) and a welcome sunset, which offered an informal networking moment among participants.

The second day began with an opening session including remarks from Abílio Silva (local organiser), Luís Pereira (Vice-President of SPM), Ascensão Lopes (President of the Materials Engineering College), and Mário Freire (Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at UBI).

The invited lecture was delivered by Rosa Santos (COFICAB), who addressed the development and application of materials to meet the technological and functional demands of the automotive industry.

During the morning, participants took part in a poster session, showcasing research submitted for the SPM Award and the Engineers’ Order Award. In the afternoon, the session “Research Topics in Materials Engineering” highlighted ongoing projects at C-MAST/UBI, followed by oral presentations from the award finalists and the prize ceremony.

The SPM Award 2025 for the best MSc thesis in Materials Science and Engineering was granted to Fábio Brandão (Department of Materials Science, NOVA School of Science and Technology). Honourable Mentions were awarded to Joana Zuquete (DEMaC, University of Aveiro) and Daniel Cavaco (DEQ, Instituto Superior Técnico).

FEMS congratulates all participants and warmly thanks UBI for the excellent local organisation and successful celebration of World Materials Day 2025.