She holds a PhD in Social and Political Sciences from the European University Institute (Florence). Between 2016 and 2019 she was the dean of the School of Sociology and Public Policy of Iscte and between 2017 and 2019 the president of the European Association ERGOMAS (European Research Group on Military and Society). She served as deputy director of the Portuguese National Defence Institute (2010-2012) and was a Visiting Professor at the University of Georgetown (Department of Government) (2013-2014). Between 2019 and 2022 she directed the National Defence Institute and between 2022 and 2024 she was the Minister of National Defence of Portugal, being the first woman to occupy both positions.

Project Manager and Iscte Local Coordinator for the PIONEER Alliance. He holds a PhD in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and an MSc in Reliability Engineering and Safety Management. He actively participated in 25 R&D projects, 17 of which EU financed ones. He is author and co-author of more than 100 papers and scientific reports with research focused on Maritime Safety, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Safety Analysis, Occupational Health and Safety, Marine Engineering, Ports, Human Factors, Accident Analysis, and Mathematical modelling.

PhD in Informatics (2007), is Associate Professor (2021) with habilitation in Information Sciences and Technologies (2020), Information Systems at the Department of Information Science and Technology of Iscte - University Institute of Lisbon. She is the Director of the Information Sciences, Technologies and Architecture Research Centre (ISTAR-Iscte) since 2023 and the Director of the Master programme in Information Systems Management (from 2022 utill March 2025), currently subdirector of this same programme till end of 2025, Department of Information Science and Technology of the University Institute of Lisbon (Iscte), Portugal. She is integrated member of the Information Systems group of the research centre ISTAR. She is member of the Expert Panel of the European Blockchain Observatory and Forum, since 2020.

Bruno Rebelo is a Senior Human Resources Technician at Iscte. Associate Researcher at CIES-Iscte: Centre for Research and Studies in Sociology. He is the Iscte Delegate for the PIONEER Work Package on Transformative Leadership (WP3). Member of the Working Groups ‘Work and organisational practices for a multi-age workforce’ and ‘Career Development in Later Life and Retirement’, within the scope of CA22120 - A European Network to Leverage the Multi-Age Workforce (LeverAge). Professional experience in Human Resources Management in the public, private and social economy sectors. Member of the Work Package Talent Scout & Career Opportunities Strategy (InCities).

She holds a PhD in Computer Studies from the University of Leeds and has been a faculty member at Iscte - University Institute of Lisbon since 2000, where she teaches in the areas of Information Systems, Human-Computer Interaction, and Artificial Intelligence. Her research focuses on AI applications in health and education, and she has led numerous national and international projects, including COST Actions and initiatives like MEM+ for people with Alzheimer. With over 60 publications, including journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers, she has made significant contributions to her field. She has also held leadership roles, such as Director of the IT-Iscte research unit and Coordinator of the Information Technology group. Her teaching excellence is reflected in consistently high student evaluations, and she has supervised multiple master's and doctoral theses.

Since 2020, she has been the co-coordinator of the Research Group on 'Politics and Citizenship' and the Deputy-Director of the Observatory of Democracy and Political Representation (both at CIES-Iscte). She was co-charing the Social Movements RN of the Council of European Studies, being now a board-member. Between 2018 and 2022 she coordinated the FCT funded research project HOPES - HOusing PErspectives and Struggles. Futures of housing movements, policies and dynamics in Lisbon and beyond. Her main areas of interest are social movements, right to the city and to housing, gentrification and tourism, digital activism and participation, protest and politics, democratization.

His key-expertise is Inequality, collective action, well-being, development, elites, and digital society. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology (since 2011), with a thesis about Social Inequalities and Collective Action in Europe. He is a National Adviser for Horizon Europe, Coordinator of the Thematic Line “Digital Transformation” of the SocioDigital Lab for Public Policy, Member of the General Council of Iscte and of the Editorial Board of “Sociologia, Problemas e Práticas” [Sociology, Problems, and Practices], and Subdirector of the Publisher “Mundos Sociais” [Social Worlds].

Currently working as the coordinator of the Studies, Quality and Sustainability Office at Iscte, and has a master's degree in Sociology. In her career as a public servant, she held positions at the Institute for Educational Assessment (Ministry of Education) and at the General Directorate for the Arts (Ministry of Culture). Her professional areas of interest are strategic planning and quality, administrative modernization, reporting and data communication.

Currently Chief Lead Researcher in Iscte – University Institute of Lisbon and works as a consultant on education, training, skills development and employment topics, both at local and international levels. She holds a PhD in Sociology, by Iscte on Adult Education and Training Policies, 2012, and a Master in Social Sciences by the Social Sciences Institute of the University of Lisbon, 2002 (ICS-UL) and graduated in Sociology, 1997 (Iscte). Expert in the topics of lifelong learning systems development, adult education and training, Vocational Education and Training (VET), namely on public policies, policy analysis and system performance monitoring, and digital transformation processes.