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students of different profiles with a different learning experience, moving away from the centuries-old and rather outdated “one-size-fits-all” approach.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.
…
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
Upcoming Events
NII International Internship Programme Presentation and Q&A by Emmanuel Planas
On April 30, Emmanuel Planas, the acting director of the Global Liaison Office (GLO) and responsible for the internationalisation program at the National Institute of Informatics (NII) in Tokyo, Japan, will give a presentation to introduce the NII and its internship program to INESC-ID students and IST’s Master’s in Computer Science students.
Date & Time: April 30, 14h00
Where: Sala Polivalente, Técnico – Taguspark
“The NII International Internship Program is an exchange activity with students from institutions with which NII has concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreement. This incentive program aims at giving interns the opportunity for professional and personal development by engaging in research activities under the guidance and supervision of NII researchers.
The NII Internship Program is open to Research Master’s and PhD students who are currently enrolled at one of the partner institutions that have signed an MOU agreement with NII.”
Educational Workshop on Responsible AI for Peace and Security (UNODA)
On June 6 and 7, The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) are offering a selected group of technical students the opportunity to join a 2-day educational workshop on Responsible AI for peace and security.
The third workshop in the series will be held in Porto Salvo, Portugal, in collaboration with GAIPS, INESC-ID, and Instituto Superior Técnico. The workshop is open to students affiliated with universities in Europe, Central and South America, the Middle East and Africa, Oceania, and Asia.
Date & Time: June 6 a 7
Where: IST – Tagus Park, Porto Salvo
Registration deadline: April 8
Summary: “As with the impacts of Artificial intelligence (AI) on people’s day-to-day lives, the impacts for international peace and security include wide-ranging and significant opportunities and challenges. AI can help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, but its dual-use nature means that peaceful applications can also be misused for harmful purposes such as political disinformation, cyberattacks, terrorism, or military operations. Meanwhile, those researching and developing AI in the civilian sector remain too often unaware of the risks that the misuse of civilian AI technology may pose to international peace and security and unsure about the role they can play in addressing them. Against this background, UNODA and SIPRI launched, in 2023, a three-year educational initiative on Promoting Responsible Innovation in AI for Peace and Security. The initiative, which is supported by the Council of the European Union, aims to support greater engagement of the civilian AI community in mitigating the unintended consequences of civilian AI research and innovation for peace and security. As part of that initiative, SIPRI and UNODA are organising a series of capacity building workshops for STEM students (at PhD and Master levels). These workshops aim to provide the opportunity for up-and-coming AI practitioners to work together and with experts to learn about a) how peaceful AI research and innovation may generate risks for international peace and security; b) how they could help prevent or mitigate those risks through responsible research and innovation; c) how they could support the promotion of responsible AI for peace and security.”