XVI Workshop APECS Portugal
Mission Polar: What’s Hot in Polar Science
It is with great pride that we present the 17th edition of the APECS Portugal Workshop “The Career After Tomorrow”. The workshop will take place on 🗓️ November 7, 2026, at 📌 Gambelas Campus, University of Algarve (Faro).
This year, we will explore the diversity of career paths in polar science beyond traditional trajectories, highlighting the different roles, skills and professional experiences that strengthen the polar research community.
Throughout the day, we will hear from speakers with diverse career paths in polar science. The final session will feature a roundtable discussion dedicated to exploring the opportunities and challenges of Artificial Intelligence in polar science.
Don’t miss this opportunity to extend your network, meet colleagues and scientists, and learn new tools for your future.
The workshop is FREE, just requires registration.
Invited speakers
Afonso Mota
The journey of a biologist into astronomy to study the habitability of other worlds
Afonso Mota is a Portuguese astrobiologist and PhD candidate at the University of Porto, working in CIIMAR as well as the Portuguese Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences. His research bridges microbiology and astrophysics to assess microbial habitability in the Solar System (e.g. Mars and icy moons) and beyond (exoplanets). In particular, his work focuses on modelling (exo)planetary environments and then performing laboratory experiments to assess the survival and growth capabilities of extremophiles in such conditions. He has presented his research in several national and international conferences, as well as actively participating in science communication with the general public, particularly as a member of the outreach group AstroBioLusitanos.
Catarina Pereira Santos
Exploring Antarctic Governance (as an Ecologist)
Catarina Pereira Santos is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Ciências ULisboa under ERC project PLAnT, and integrated member of MARE-ULisboa/ARNET. Her research has focused on climate change and its impacts over marine life for more than a decade and strives to best encapsulate scientific information and human perspectives into frameworks that facilitate decision-making for a more sustainable future. She has a PhD in Biology from the University of Lisbon, a Master in Ocean Sciences and Marine Resources from University of Porto, and a degree in Marine Biology from the University of Lisbon.
Francisco Pascoal
Seeing Ecology Through a Data Scientist’s Lens
Francisco Pascoal is a PhD researcher at CIIMAR (Interdisciplinary Centre for Marine and Environmental Research), working at the intersection of marine microbial ecology, polar research, and data science. His research focuses on microbial ecology in polar environments, particularly the Arctic Ocean, where he investigates the diversity and dynamics of microbial communities and explores new approaches to monitoring marine microbiomes. Francisco holds a PhD in Biology from the University of Porto, an MSc in Microbiology from the University of Lisbon, and a Bachelor’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the NOVA University of Lisbon. Throughout his academic journey, his interests have evolved from microbial ecology towards the application of machine learning to solve problems in ecological data.
He is currently developing his research expertise in machine learning applications for ecology and is a member of the CIIMAR AI Working Group, contributing to the discussion and implementation of responsible AI practices within the research community. He was also a co-author of CIIMAR’s institutional guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence and is involved in AI training for researchers.
Catarina Silva
From Genomics to Artificial Intelligence: An Interdisciplinary Journey in Marine and Polar Science
Catarina NS Silva is an Auxiliary Researcher at the University of Coimbra working at the interface of evolutionary biology, fisheries science and biodiversity conservation. Her international career has spanned Europe, South America and Oceania, as well as academic and private-sector environments.
Currently she is the Principal Investigator of the BEATS project (BEaks, Genes and AI Tell Antarctic Science Stories), and also the Co-PI and work package leader in the Horizon Europe project REDUCE (Reducing bycatch of threatened megafauna in the East Central Atlantic), where she develops genomic and automated monitoring approaches for biodiversity conservation.
