Daniel Gonçalves
Short Personal Interview
Daniel Gonçalves was born in 1974, in Tavira, Portugal. He is an INESC-ID Researcher since 2001, integrating the Scientific Area Graphics and Interaction (GI).
How did you get to INESC-ID?
As a prospective PhD student
Research project(s) under development
VisBig – Real-Time Visualization of Streaming Big Data
GameCourse – Improving University Courses through Gamification
How would you explain in the most accessible and least technical language possible, what is the application / expected results of this (these) project (s)?
To be able to effectively and efficiently visualize and analyze large amounts real-time data; Study how gamification can be used to increase the engagement of college-level students of different profiles.
Tell us about your favorite project so far (or one of them)?
GameCourse, where lots of very interesting results have been achieved so far, with high impact from a scientific point of view, and also in pedagogical terms. We study how gamification can be used to increase student engagement, and even to provide students of different profiles with a different learning experience, moving away from the centuries-old and rather outdated “one-size-fits-all” approach. This will bolster their learning and outcomes. It has also shown to be a resilient approach, even in challenging contexts, such as the current COVID19 pandemic and all the changes to the teaching paradigm it brough about.
What are the biggest challenges of working in research in this area?
The need to involve students and other users (a must, but it makes testing harder). Indeed, there is an important qualitative aspect to the research that can and is assessed, but makes reaching conclusions harder than mere quantitative methods common in several other engineering fields.
What book are you currently reading?
Shards of Earth (by Adrian Tchaikovsky)
How would you explain to your child (or your parents or grandparents) what your job is?
I teach Computer Science at Técnico, continuously trying to find novel and more interesting ways of teaching, and I am a researcher, coming up with new ways to help people interact with computers.
How do you see the mission of INESC-ID “ to produce added value to people and society, supporting the response of public policies to scientific, health, environmental, cultural, social, economic and political challenges, in the fields of Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering”?
It covers, in a nutshell, the goals and values that INESC-ID actively pursues. In particular, I would point out the connection to the wider society, where we strive to have an impact, that will help bolster national and international knowledge and standards of living. This, I feel, is a very relevant part of what we, INESC-ID researchers, try to accomplish.
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Academic Degree
Habilitation in Computer Science
Training / Research Areas
HCI, InfoVis, Gamification, Computer Science Engineering
INESC-ID Scientific Area
Linkedin Profile Link
https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielgoncalves/
Twitter Profile Link