An interdisciplinary research community.

Working Group: Media Communication

Full Professor (Educational Multimedia Communication) | Pro-rector for Innovation, Coordinator of Research Hub Digital Literacy & Social Inclusion (CIAC-PLDIS-UPSantarém); Invited Full (Cathedratic) Professor, Universidade Aberta (Lisbon, 20%); EU Expert Evaluator (H2020, Erasmus+, EUREKA, ICT, Ethics, Innowide, PhD & Post-Doc) | FCT PhD Supervisor; Head of https://pololiteraciadigital.ipsantarem.pt/wp-admin/edit.php?post_type=acf-field-groupInnovation, ACE2EU | FOREU4ALL–ACE2EU Representative; MetaRed TIC Portugal – Women in ICT National Coordinator| Panel Coordinator – Education Sciences (FCT)

Working Group: Media Communication, Social Inclusion

Coordinator Professor at Santarém Polytechnic University (UPSantarém) and Coordinator of the Master’s Programme in Applied Informatics. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the UI_IPSantarém Scientific Journal and as Vice-Coordinator of the Digital Literacy and Social Inclusion Hub (CIAC-PLDIS). He holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Évora, and his research interests include recommender systems, educational technologies, and digital health literacy. With more than 30 years of academic and professional experience, he has authored numerous scientific publications, developed digital tools supporting education and health empowerment, and received recognition for his contributions to the application of technology in educational and health contexts.

Working Group: Computer Sciences

PhD in Education (European PhD) from the Institute of Education of the University of Lisbon, specialising in Information and Communication Technologies in Education. He held a postdoctoral degree at the University of Seville, focusing on teaching digital skills in online higher education. He is an Assistant Researcher and integrated member of the Digital Literacy and Social Inclusion Hub (PLDIS), within the scope of the Center for Research in Arts and Communication (CIAC), and a professor at the School of Education of the Polytechnic University of Santarém, in Portugal. He also serves as administrative-financial director of the Brazilian Association of Distance Education (ABED).

Working Group: Media Communication

Jose Manuel Diego-Mantecón is Associate Professor of Mathematics Education and Head of the Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computing at the University of Cantabria, where he founded and leads the Open STEAM Group. He holds a PhD and an MPhil in Mathematics Education from the University of Cambridge and a BSc in Pure Mathematics from Royal Holloway, University of London. His research focuses on digital formative assessment, STEM/STEAM education, teacher education, mathematical modelling, affect, digital technologies, computational thinking and artificial intelligence. He has participated in 19 competitively funded projects and served as principal investigator or coordinator in seven European Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+ projects. He has published more than 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and is an International Integrated Researcher at CIAC-PLDIS.

Maryam Abbasi is a researcher in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, with a PhD in Informatics Engineering from the University of Coimbra (2019, Distinction and Honour). She holds a full research-career contract as Auxiliary Researcher at CIAC-PLDIS (Pólo de Literacia Digital e Inclusão Social of the Centre for Research in Arts and Communication) at the Polytechnic Institute of Santarém, where she also teaches Artificial Intelligence courses at the School of Management and Technology. She is a collaborating researcher at the Laboratory of Artificial Neural Networks (LARN), CISUC, University of Coimbra.

Her research sits between Artificial Intelligence, Bioinformatics, Health and Behavioural Sciences, with a focus on deep generative models, multi-objective reinforcement learning, transformer architectures, explainable AI (XAI), and the combination of knowledge graphs with large language models. She has led and taken part in competitive projects funded by FCT, Horizon Europe, MIT Portugal and PRIMA, with applications in education, drug discovery, antimicrobial peptide design, precision oncology and sustainable agriculture.

She has co-supervised two completed PhDs, both awarded with distinction, along with several master's and undergraduate students. She contributes to advanced training, science communication and international scientific dissemination, including keynote lectures, invited webinars and program committee memberships at international conferences. Her work has resulted in over 100 publications, including papers in leading Q1 journals such as Briefings in Bioinformatics, Journal of Cheminformatics, Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Computers in Biology and Medicine.

Working Group: Computer Sciences

Associate teacher of School of Education of Santarém Polytechnic University (ESE-UPSantarém). Integrated Member of CIAC-PLDIS UPSantarém.
PhD in Education, specialization in Didactics of Mathematics by the Education Instituto of the University of Lisbon. master's degree in Education, in the specialization in Didactics of Mathematics, from the Sciences Faculty of the University of Lisbon. Degree in Teaching of Mathematics, from the Sciences Faculty of the University of Lisbon.
Director of the Master in Teaching of the 1st cycle of basic education and Mathematics and Natural Sciences in the 2nd cycle of basic education (since 2022). Between 2013 and 2024 she was sub-director of the Master in Pre-school Education and Teaching of the 1st cycle of basic education. Since 2018 to 2022 she was President of the Technical-Scientific Council.
Projects in which participated: IMLNA project and P3M Project - Professional Practices of Mathematics Teachers with national support of FCT. Projects with ERASMUS + support ITELab Project, HanguingOUT Project, TAP- Teaching Sustainability. In 2022–2023, she was a member of the Working Group on Curriculum and Professional Development in Mathematics (DCPM), as part of the project ‘Context and Vision for the curriculum review of Essential Learning Outcomes in Mathematics’, organised
by the Portuguese DGE-ME.
Ongoing projects: ERGUES (Instituto Camões); SMARTIVERSE (ERASMUS+); DILIGENCE (ERASMUS+); TAP-DCE (ERASMUS+).

Working Group: Literacy and Vocational Training Coordinator

Holds a PhD in Education, specializing in Information and Communication Technologies in Education, and a Master’s degree in Education and Training, specializing in e-Learning and Distance Education, both awarded by the Institute of Education of the University of Lisbon. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education and Multimedia Communication from the School of Education of Santarém Polytechnic University. She is currently a Guest Adjunct Professor at the School of Education of Santarém Polytechnic University and works as a trainer and Instructional Designer/Learning Manager, contributing to the development of interactive content for distance education courses. She is a member of the Distance Learning and Pedagogical Innovation Unit at the School of Education of Santarém Polytechnic University. She is an integrated researcher at CIEQV – Life Quality Research Centre of Santarém Polytechnic University, in the field of Quality Education. She is also a collaborating researcher at the CIAC-PLDIS research hub at Santarém Polytechnic University. Throughout her academic and professional career, she has collaborated on several national projects focused on pedagogical innovation and the integration of digital technologies in education. Her work is primarily situated in the field of Educational Technology, with a particular focus on Educational Sciences.

Paulo Duarte Branco holds a PhD in Multimedia in Education from the University of Aveiro and works in higher education across teaching, research, academic management and international cooperation. At ISTEC Lisbon, he serves as President of the Pedagogical Council and coordinates the Bachelor’s Degree in Multimedia Engineering, the Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Engineering and the Master’s Degree in Computer Science. He also coordinates the Advanced Computing Research Unit, the Educational Projects and Internationalisation area, and the ISTEC Next Gen Hub incubator. He is the author of several national and international scientific publications and has participated in multiple research, innovation and European cooperation projects. In parallel, he acts as an external evaluator for different agencies and organisations, including the assessment of Erasmus+ projects, Eureka projects and applications under the Bem-vindo a Portugal programme.

Working Group: Computer Sciences, Media Communication

Professor for Digital Business Management at Carinthia University of Applied Sciences in Austria, where he also acts as Program Director of the Bachelor program in Digital Business Management and Vice Dean for Research and Digitalisation of the Faculty of Business & Management (School of Management). He currently serves as president of the German Academic Association for Information Science and as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Open Information Science. He is also member of the special interest group on Information Literacy of the German Conference of Degree Programs in Information and Library Science (KIBA).

Working Group: Media Communication

Susana Colaço is a Coordinating Professor at the School of Education of Santarém Polytechnic
University and a researcher at CIAC, within the Digital Literacy and Social Inclusion Hub (PLDIS). She
holds a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Lisbon and is a specialist in teacher education (1st
and 2nd cycles of basic education). She has been involved in higher education, research, and teacher
education for approximately three decades.
Her research interests focus on Mathematics Education, initial and continuing teacher education,
integrated STEM/STEAM education (iSTEM), educational administration, organisation and leadership,
citizenship and democracy education, sustainability, inclusive education, and statistics in education. She
has participated in and institutionally coordinated national and international projects, with a particular
focus on teacher education and the development of interdisciplinary educational approaches oriented
towards participation, citizenship, and sustainability.
Throughout her academic career, she has held several management and leadership positions in higher
education, including serving as Deputy Director of the School of Education from 2014 to 2018 and as
Director from 2018 to 2022. She is currently Head of the Department of Mathematical and Natural
Sciences and Coordinator of the Master's Degree in Educational Administration, and is also a member of
the editorial leadership of the scientific journal Interacções.

Working Group: Literacy and Vocational Training

Holds a degree in Textile Engineering, specializing in Garment Technology and Design, and has further training in Graphic Design and Animation. Her professional experience includes fashion design, photography, video production, and creative projects across Europe. She received the Gold Plaque for Innovation in 2022 and participated in several international initiatives promoting creativity and social inclusion. Since 2024, she has worked as a media expert, facilitator, and educator in media literacy and youth work. In 2025, she joined the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme in Spain. She currently specializes in video production, digital media, and marketing.

Working Group: Social Inclusion