Full Professor of Industrial Engineering and Management at NOVA School of Science and Technology, currently holding the position of President of the National Agency for Innovation (ANI). He has previously held academic management positions at NOVA School of Science and Technology as Head of the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Director of the research center UNIDEMI, Member of the Board of NOVA.ID, Director of the PhD Program in Industrial Engineering, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Madan Parque Incubator, and Member of the Board of Directors of UNINOVA. As a professor he teaches subjects such as Technological Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Product Development, Information Systems, Decision Models, and Strategic Management in undergraduate, masters and doctoral programs. More recently he seeks to make the connection between academia and business through executive training, as coordinator of the Post-Graduation in Supply Chain Management, Post-Graduation in Agile Project Management and the Executive Program Inspiring Tech Safari. António Grilo has managed more than 20 research & development and innovation projects, mainly in partnership with companies. He has published more than 110 papers in international scientific journals, conferences and book chapters in the area of Interoperability, Digital Platforms, Artificial Intelligence Applications and Blockchain in Industry and Services, with more than 2000 citations in his scientific works. He also has a passion for supporting the development of startups and entrepreneurship in an academic environment.

Alexandra Vilela integrates the National Innovation Agency's Board of Directors as Executive Director. She has a degree in Sociology from the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, having started her experience in the European Union Funds at the Ministry of Planning in 1992.

She was a seconded national expert at the European Commission - DG Employment and Social Affairs (ESF/Portugal), Manager of the Priority Axes "Qualifying for Modernizing the Public Administration" (POEFDS/FSE) and "Open State - Modernizing the Public Administration", Coordinator of the Mission Unit for Innovation and Knowledge (UMIC) for the area of Innovation, Director of the National Agency for the Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci II Programs, Manager of PRODEPIII, Executive Member of the Directive Commission of the Human Potential Operational Program QREN 2007-2013, and also Executive Member of the Directive Commission of the Human Capital Operational Program PORTUGAL 2020.

Since 2016 (and until 2023) she was a member of the COMPETE2020' Steering Committee, with direct responsibilities in the areas of Science and the R&TD Incentives System, Digital Transformation of the Public Administration, Qualification of Company Workers, Transport Infrastructures and Auditing.

With over 15 years of experience in industry, Sílvia has worked mainly in technological innovation, in both public and private sectors. In recent years, she has focused on the development of ideas and their implementation through multidisciplinary R&D projects (both national and international) and establishment of strategic partnership with the National Scientific and Technological System (SCTN) to promote new technological areas.

Sílvia led the Innovation and Development Laboratory (INCMLAB) of the Casa da Moeda and Imprensa Nacional, having actively contributed to its creation and development, and was also responsible for the launch and creation of the company's innovation award (IN3+ Award).

She was a senior researcher at ISQ (Welding and Quality Institute), where she also held a senior technical position in industrial sustainability. At the Portuguese Environment Agency, she worked as a senior technician in industrial licensing, also having as a mission the monitoring of public policies with the European Union, namely in environmental responsibility. She began her career as a researcher first at IBET (Institute of Experimental and Technological Biology), having passed through ITQB (Institute of Chemical and Biochemical Technology-António Xavier) and FCT-UNL (Faculty of Science and Technology, New University of Lisbon).

Sílvia Garcia has a PhD in Biotechnology, a post-graduate degree in Industrial Management and a degree in Chemical Engineering from Faculdade Nova de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCTNOVA).

As a volunteer, she was the coordinator of the Artificial Intelligence task force of APDSI (Association for the Promotion and Development of the Information Society), responsible for analyzing, discussing, disseminating trends, and promoting the debate on the use of Artificial Intelligence in the public and private sectors, as well as developing reflection and strategic thinking to demystify Artificial Intelligence.

Sílvia Garcia has a PhD in Biotechnology, a post-graduate degree in Industrial Management and a degree in Chemical Engineering from Faculdade Nova de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCTNOVA). With over 15 years of experience in industry, she has worked mainly in the area of technological innovation, in the public and private sectors. In recent years, she has focused on the development of ideas and their implementation through multidisciplinary R&D projects (national and international) and establishment of strategic partnership with the National Scientific and Technological System (SCTN) in order to promote new technological areas.

In recent years, she led the Innovation and Development Laboratory (INCMLAB) of the Imprensa Nacional Casa da Moeda, having actively contributed to its creation and development, and was also responsible for the launch and creation of the company's innovation award (IN3+ Award).

She was a senior researcher at ISQ (Welding and Quality Institute), where she also held a senior technical position in the area of industrial sustainability. At the Portuguese Environment Agency she worked as a senior technician in the area of industrial licensing, also having as a mission the monitoring of public policies with the European Union, namely in the area of environmental responsibility. She began her career as a researcher first at IBET (Institute of Experimental and Technological Biology), having passed through ITQB (Institute of Chemical and Biochemical Technology-António Xavier) and FCT-UNL (Faculty of Science and Technology, New University of Lisbon), where she received her PhD in 2006.

As a volunteer, she was the coordinator of the Artificial Intelligence task force of APDSI (Association for the Promotion and Development of the Information Society), responsible for analyzing, discussing, disseminating trends, and promoting the debate on the use of Artificial Intelligence in the public and private sectors, as well as developing reflection and strategic thinking in order to demystify Artificial Intelligence.