The Power of Data – 2025.04.02

The Rui Cunha Foundation presents on Wednesday, April 2nd at 6:30pm, a session of the Circle of Ideasseries, titled “The Power of Data: Building Smart and Sustainable Cities”, with the participation of Prof. Miguel de Castro Neto, Dean of NOVA Information Management School (NOVA IMS) at Nova University of Lisbon, and Prof. André Barriguinha, Chief Operating Officer of Nova Cidade Urban Analytics Lab. The event will be moderated by Prof. José C. Alves, Dean of the Faculty of Business at City University of Macau, the co-organizer of the event.

The speakers aim to bring to the territory a discussion on the future of smart and sustainable cities, highlighting how data analysis can «contribute not only to environmental progress, but also to social inclusion, economic resilience and citizen trust» in societies’ structure and organization, according to the presented proposal.

This debate will present NOVA IMS’s vision on the treatment and implementation of IT data with purpose. «More than analyzing numbers, we create value—by transforming data into actionable knowledge that drives better governance, informed decision-making and public innovation», they state. «From improving how people move, live, work and engage, we believe data is a key enabler of more transparent and impactful societies».

The current challenge requires one to «rethink the role of data in building a smarter, more ethical, and sustainable world. From AI-driven breakthroughs in healthcare to the power of data in tackling global issues such as climate change and economic resilience, the focus is on the choices being made todayand their impact on the future».

Miguel de Castro Neto is the Dean of NOVA Information Management School (NOVA IMS) at Nova University of Lisbon, where he is an Associate Professor. He created and leads the Nova Cidade Urban Analytics Lab, dedicated to smart cities and urban analytics. He directs the Master in Information Management and the Post-Graduation programs in Smart Cities and Business Analytics for Hospitality and Tourism. He was Secretary of State of Spatial Planning and Nature Conservation in the XIX and XX Portuguese Government and Smart Cities Personality of the Year (Green Business Week 2017 / Fundação AIP). He is also Advisory Member of the Portuguese Professional Engineers Association, founder of the Data Science Portuguese Association, and member of the Sustainable Growth Platform think tank.

André Barriguinha holds a PhD in Information Management – Geoinformatics, a Master’s in Science and Geographic Information Systems, and a degree in Agricultural Engineering. He is a Professor at NOVA IMS from Nova University of Lisbon, an Integrated Researcher at the Information Management Research Center (MagIC), and an Executive Director at Nova Cidade Urban Analytics Lab, where he also develops work in geographic information systems, information management, geospatial artificial intelligence and urban and territorial analytics.

The session will be held in English.

Admission is free.

Don’t miss it!

For Macau, Further and Higher!

More Information:

https://novacidade.pt/nova-cidade/

https://novacidade.pt/nova-cidade/equipa/miguel-de-castro-neto/

https://novacidade.pt/nova-cidade/equipa/andre-barriguinha/