# José Epifânio da Franca


## Pages

- [entrada](https://josedafranca.com/): To Dream To Do José Epifânio da Franca Academic, Scientific &amp; Entrepreneurial Archive Access Archive → José Epifânio da Franca Academic, Scientific &amp; Entrepreneurial Archive Archive Index 01Biography → 02Academic Journey → 03Scientific Journey → 04Teaching Training Supervision → 05University Management Governance → 06Entrepreneurship Economy → 07Government → 08Prizes Awards Honours → 09Publications → 10In the Media →
- [Portugal Ventures](https://josedafranca.com/entrepreneurship/portugal-ventures/): Portugal Ventures Strategic Vision and Institutional Repositioning Portugal Ventures was not simply another public agency. Its mission was to reposition the government-driven public role in the economy, shifting from a passive distributor of underperforming capital to an active co-investor in innovation and value creation. This required: A new investment strategy, based on rigorous screening, global benchmarks, solid underlying knowledge, and professional portfolio management; A paradigm change of capital deployment, focusing on equity investments based the best venture international practices;
- [Chipidea](https://josedafranca.com/entrepreneurship/chipidea/): Chipidea From Academic Excellence to Entrepreneurial Execution Chipidea was born at the intersection of deep academic expertise and entrepreneurial vision. Building on decades of research, teaching, and team development at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Professor Franca transformed world-class scientific and foundational knowledge in analog and mixed-signal design into a commercially viable, globally scalable enterprise. The company’s mission was clear: to design advanced analog and analog-digital IP functions for system-on-chip (SoC) and system-in-package (SiP) platforms in markets such as communications, consumer electronics, broadband infrastructure, and industrial automation. From the outset, Chipidea embodied a culture of ambition, technical rigor, innovation, and internationalisation. [&hellip;]
- [teaching](https://josedafranca.com/teaching/): Teaching Training and Supervision At a Glance At a glance Throughout his academic career and the teaching responsibilities entrusted to him, Professor José Epifânio da Franca played a leading role in the pedagogical and curricular development of several undergraduate and graduate courses. He contributed to the design, content structuring, and classroom delivery of various courses ranging from foundational circuit analysis and introductory electronics through to specialised topics in microelectronics and integrated circuits and systems design, with an emphasis on analog and analog-digital technology. Prominent among his many leadership initiatives, was the establishment of a high-quality framework for integrated circuit teaching, [&hellip;]
- [scientific Journey](https://josedafranca.com/scientific-journey/): Scientific Journey At a Glance Contribution Throughout his scientific career, José Epifânio da Franca contributed to the advancement of analog and mixed-signal integrated circuit design, particularly in the areas of Switched-Capacitor (SC) circuits and systems, multirate signal processing, data-conversion architectures and design automation methodologies and tools. He was an avid contributor to the development of SC technology, particularly in CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), driven by the need to achieve the ultimate levels of electronic integration for large scale semiconductor manufacturing. His work brought together original research, research-group building, international collaboration, industrial R&amp;D, and technology transfer, contributing to both advanced [&hellip;]
- [Media](https://josedafranca.com/mediaa/): In The Media News, interviews and praise 2023, Técnico Alumni&#8220;10 perguntas a José Epifânio da Franca&#8221; Open PDF Open PDF 2023, AEIST &#8211; Great Minds Open PDF Open PDF 2014, Case Study – Nova School of Business and Economics &#8220;Chipidea – Successful Exit of a Venture Capital Investment&#8221; Open PDF Open PDF 2014, Jornal Público &#8220;Investimento público em startups corre “riscos superiores” ao privado&#8221; Open PDF Open PDF 2011, EXAME Informática &#8220;O homem e os Chips&#8221; Open PDF Open PDF 2010, IEEE CASS Industrial Pioneer Award Open PDF 2009, EE TIMES Bolaji Ojo &#8220;Analysis: Dissecting the MIPS­Chipidea breakup&#8221; Open PDF [&hellip;]
- [Government](https://josedafranca.com/government/): Government Service Secretary of State for Educational Resources In 1991–1992, Dr. Franca served in the Government of Portugal as Secretary of State for Educational Resources at the Ministry of Education, assuming executive responsibility for budget oversight and management, and financial execution across the national education system. His portfolio covered expenditure control, allocation discipline, and execution monitoring across multiple programs and institutions, at a time when public education spending was under heightened scrutiny and subject to tighter governance requirements. His tenure coincided with a politically and socially sensitive reform period centred on two major measures: the introduction of tuition fees in [&hellip;]
- [University Management Governance](https://josedafranca.com/university-management-governance/): University Management &amp; Governance At a Glance Throughout his academic career, José Epifânio da Franca combined scientific excellence and entrepreneurial drive with sustained leadership in university governance, institutional reform, and science and technology policy. His engagement in those domains was guided by a consistent vision: universities as strategic institutions, capable of renewal, accountable governance, and effective connection to society, industry, and innovation. Rather than episodic service, his governance trajectory reflects a long-term commitment to building institutional capacity, modernizing management systems, and shaping policy frameworks that enabled research excellence, technology transfer, and academic entrepreneurship.   Executive leadership at Instituto Superior Técnico [&hellip;]
- [Academic Journey](https://josedafranca.com/academic-journey/): Academic Journey At a Glance José Epifânio da Franca is an academic engineer whose career spans advanced education, international research, and long-term institutional engagement at Portugal’s leading engineering school. He obtained a doctoral degree in Electrical Engineering from Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London, following distinguished undergraduate studies at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST). His academic path progressed through all academic ranks, culminating in the Habilitation (Agregação) and a tenured professorship at IST. Dr. Franca academic work combines rigorous teaching, multi-faceted student supervision, and sustained research in microelectronics and electronic systems, complemented by early industrial experience at EDP [&hellip;]
- [Entrepreneurship and the Economy](https://josedafranca.com/entrepreneurship/): Society, Entrepreneurship and the Economy At a Glance The Economic Impact of Knowledge and Entrepreneurship have been a central axis of José Epifânio da Franca’s professional trajectory, bridging deep scientific expertise, technology transfer, venture creation, and ecosystem building. His work connects four complementary dimensions: the creation of a foundational university research group (IST ICS), the creation of a landmark deep-tech startup (Chipidea), the institutional structuring of a national venture capital platform (Portugal Ventures), and long-term pedagogical and policy contributions to entrepreneurial culture. As founder and Director of IST Integrated Circuits and Systems (ICS) Group, Dr. Franca established a solid framework [&hellip;]
- [Publications](https://josedafranca.com/publications/): Publications &amp; Patents Theses, Books, and Chapters This section presents several scholarly contributions, including theses, books, edited volumes, encyclopedia entries, and book chapters. Spanning several decades, these publications reflect significant advances in analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits, switched-capacitor systems, multirate signal processing, data conversion, and VLSI design for telecommunications. Through both authored and edited works, J. E. Franca and collaborators contributed to the development and dissemination of foundational methodologies and emerging techniques that have influenced research and education in microelectronics and signal processing worldwide. J. E. Franca — “Switched-Capacitor Systems for Narrow Bandpass Filtering” — Ph.D. Dissertation, University of London [&hellip;]
- [Prizes Awards &amp; Honours](https://josedafranca.com/prizes-awards-patents/): Prizes, Awards &amp; Honours At a Glance Over more than four decades of activity across academia, institutional government, semiconductor technology and industry, and entrepreneurship, José Epifânio da Franca has received major international distinctions recognising scientific excellence, industrial pioneering innovation, educational leadership, and business impact. Dr. Franca’s honours include elevation to IEEE Fellow — the highest professional grade of the world’s largest engineeringassociation — national state decorations, international entrepreneurship awards, and multiple technology and innovation prizes associated with globally recognised achievements. Highlights include:  First IEEE Fellow in Portugal, for contributions to analog multirate signal processing and engineering education   Recipient of [&hellip;]
- [Biography](https://josedafranca.com/biography/): Biography at a Glance José Epifânio da Franca is Professor Catedrático (Full Professor) of Electronic Engineering, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and a leading figure in semiconductors, technology-based entrepreneurship, and innovation policy. Over a career spanning more than four decades, he has combined academic excellence with entrepreneurial leadership, public service, and long-term institutional impact. After completing at Imperial College London an internationally grounded Ph.D. in electronic engineering, he rejoined Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), where from 1986 onwards he created and led a research group in microelectronics and integrated circuit design &#8211; the IST Integrated Circuits and Systems Group. This group became the [&hellip;]


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