I started my professional career in the last quarter of the year 2000 – technically making me a 20th-century worker – after completing my undergraduate† degree in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) at the University of Porto, Portugal. I was passionate about telecommunications, and the industry was booming. So for my first work experience I landed a position as a Network Engineer at Vodafone, where I had made a good impression during an internship. Our team was responsible for designing and operating the core and edge of the IP network, serving both internal and external corporate customers.

In 2005, I joined the IP division of Nokia (formerly Alcatel-Lucent) in Lisbon as a Consultant, designing and customizing network solutions for major telecom carriers across the EMEA region. One of the most exciting parts of the job was running proof-of-concept trials with potential customers – it was hands-on, fast-paced, and full of interesting challenges.

Alongside my industry work, I completed an M.A. in Applied Mathematics in 2003 under the supervision of André Puga at the University of Porto. In 2008, I embarked on a new academic journey by joining the doctoral program in ‘Intelligent Systems, Robotics, and Control’ at the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) department at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), USA. There, I earned both an M.Sc. (2011) and a Ph.D. (2015) under the supervision of Nuno Vasconcelos in the Statistical and Visual Computing Lab (SVCL). During my time at UCSD, I worked as both a Research and Teaching Assistant and even had the chance to do a brief internship at Telefonica R&D in Barcelona, Spain.

After completing my PhD, I returned to Europe and joined INESCTEC as a postdoctoral researcher in Jaime Cardoso’s group, Visual Computing and Machine Intelligence (VCMI). My role involved supervising students and helping organize VISUM, a Machine Learning and Computer Vision Summer School.

In 2018, I took on a new challenge and joined Huawei R&D Noah’s Ark Lab in London, UK, as a Senior Research Scientist. Our team contributed to Huawei’s continued dominance in smartphone camera benchmarks, helping push the boundaries of computational photography. During this time, I also had the opportunity to serve as an invited lecturer in the CSE department at the University of Porto’s School of Engineering.

After six incredible years at Huawei R&D, I’m starting a new chapter. I have returned to my alma mater, the University of Porto, as an Assistant Professor in the CSE department at the School of Engineering (FEUP). It feels great to be back – though the premises may have changed, the excitement of being here remains the same.

†Licenciatura was a 5-year undergraduate degree, the somewhat standard university degree in Portugal before the ‘Bologna Process’