Professors Denounce Senior Lecturer at Instituto Superior Técnico for Moral and Labor Harassment

A group of professors from the Mechanical Engineering department at the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) in Lisbon have accused a full professor at the institution of systematic moral and labor harassment over a period of 25 years, as reported by the newspaper Público.

According to the report, the complaint was sent in February of this year via a letter signed by eight professors—many with long academic careers—and addressed to the president of IST, Rogério Colaço.

At the center of the allegations is Paulo Martins, who has been a full professor in the area of Mechanical Technology and Industrial Management for over 20 years. The eight professors who signed the letter accuse him of controlling and blocking their academic careers, limiting their access to sabbatical leaves and research resources, preventing them from working in certain areas or projects, and publicly discrediting and undermining them.

Per Público, the eight teachers behind the denunciation say they feel discriminated against and humiliated by the repeated practices of Paulo Martins, who has been at Técnico since 1986, where he built a solid academic career.

The same newspaper adds that before moving forward with the complaint, the group of professors sought the opinion of some influential figures within Técnico, including that of Manuel Heitor—the former Minister of Science who is the oldest full professor at the institution and also part of the Mechanical Engineering department.

To Público, Manuel Heitor stated that he supported the group in moving forward with the denunciation and revealed that he had also heard echoes of the "ethical problems" surrounding that professor. "But we don't have the evidence. It's the affected ones who have the evidence and must bring this to light," said the academic, praising "the courage of this group of eight people" and highlighting that only due to "fear of internal reprisals" did a denunciation of this kind not happen sooner.

According to Manuel Heitor, the professors complain that Paulo Martins did not allow the academic progression of colleagues "to be the only full professor" in the area.

The letter sent to the president of IST requested an internal investigation process. Rogério Colaço, the leader of the institution, received the complaint but opted to open a disciplinary process regarding the case.

Lawyer Dantas Rodrigues, who represents the professors who made the complaint, regrets that Colaço chose a disciplinary process, which is shorter and more protective of the professor, instead of an investigation into the facts that, in the end, could expose criminal offenses that deserved to be sent to justice.

Paulo Martins told the newspaper Público that he had "nothing to comment on that matter." Rogério Colaço also said he would only speak out after the conclusion of the disciplinary process.

In 2024 alone, the IST Ombudsman's Office received 40 complaints, of which 17 related to moral harassment and three to sexual harassment.