Data Research Meetup by MagIC - 4th Edition

About the Event

The 4^th edition of the Data Research Meetup by MagIC will focus on the theme “Beyond the Black Box: Understanding, Interpreting and Explaining AI.”

As artificial intelligence systems become increasingly present in research, organizations, and society, the need to understand how these systems work, how they make decisions, and how their outputs can be interpreted has become a central topic in Data Science and AI research.

Organized by MagIC – Information Management Research Center, this event will bring together researchers, faculty, students, and invited experts to discuss current challenges and research opportunities in Data Science and Management in the areas of Explainable and Interpretable AI.

The meetup aims to create a space for scientific exchange, discussion, and networking, contributing to a broader reflection on how AI systems can become more transparent, interpretable, and useful across different contexts.

Participation is free of charge, but prior registration is required. Complete the form below to secure your place.

Program

09h30 – Registration

10h00 – Welcome notes

Professor Leonardo Vanneschi | Director of the MagIC Research Center

10h20 – Keynote: We Built AI, But Can We Understand It? The Explainability Imperative

Professor Luca Longo | Associate Professor, Director of The Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Load Research Lab, University College Cork

11h20 – Coffee break & networking

11h40 – Roundtable: The Future of AI Transparency

Moderator: Professor Vitor Santos | Associate Professor, NOVA IMS

Professor Luca Longo | Associate Professor, Director of The Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Load Research Lab, University College Cork
Professor Catarina Barata | Assistant Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico and Researcher at ISR-Lisboa, LARSyS
Professor Nuno Lourenço | Associate Professor at the Universidade de Coimbra and Researcher at CISUC
Professor Cátia Pesquita | Associate Professor at Universidade de Lisboa, Vice-Director of LASIGE research centre

12h40 – Lunch & Poster session

14h30 – MagIC’s Research in Data Science

Moderator: Professor Paulo de Campos Souza | Invited Assistant Professor, NOVA IMS

Interpretability in Machine Learning: Solving a Problem We Haven't Defined by Karina Brotto Rebuli | Postdoc fellow, NOVA IMS
Ready or Not? Transparency and Digital Skills as Foundations for AI in European E-Government by Mijail Naranjo | Assistant Professor, NOVA IMS

15h30 – Coffee break & networking

16h00 – MagIC’s Research in Data Science

Moderator: Professor Paulo de Campos Souza | Invited Assistant Professor, NOVA IMS

SLIM_GSGP: A Journey into Interpretable Symbolic Regression by Sofia Alves Pereira | Adjunct Lecturer and PhD student, NOVA IMS
Unlocking the Next Wave of AI by Vitor Duarte Santos | Associate Professor, NOVA IMS

17h00 – Awards ceremony for the best PhD poster

Professor Miguel de Castro Neto | Dean of NOVA IMS

17h20 – Wrap-up and final words

Professor Miguel de Castro Neto | Dean of NOVA IMS

Speakers

Luca Longo

Associate Professor and Director of the AI and Cognitive Load Research Lab at University College Cork
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Vítor Duarte Santos

Associate Professor at NOVA IMS
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Cátia Pesquita

Vice-Director of the LASIGE Computer Science and Engineering Research Centre
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Catarina Barata

Assistant Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico and Researcher at ISR-Lisboa, LARSyS
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Nuno Lourenço

Associate Professor at the University of Coimbra and Researcher at CISUC
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Karina Rebuli

Professor of the Practice at NOVA IMS
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Mijail Naranjo

Assistant Professor at NOVA IMS
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Sofia Alves Pereira

Adjunct Lecturer at NOVA IMS, PhD student
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Paulo Souza

Invited Assistant Professor at NOVA IMS
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Poster Session

As part of the Data Research Meetup by MagIC, NOVA IMS PhD students are invited to submit a scientific poster presenting their ongoing research.

The poster session offers an opportunity to showcase research projects, receive feedback from experienced researchers, and engage with national and international experts attending the event.

“Beyond Teleoperation: Enhancing VLA Robustness via Geometric Retargeting of Human Demonstrations”

By José Andrade

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“Validation of Early Vineyard Yield Estimation: Comparing Leave-One-Year-Out and Walk-Forward Back-Testing in the Douro Demarcated Region”

By Diogo Costa

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“The Use Value of Culture: A Bayesian Structural Time Series Model of Weekly Attendance at Lisbon’s Heritage Venues”

By Diogo Diogo

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“The Latent Structure of Diversification from Relatedness and Network Embeddings”

By Niclas Sturm

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“The Moral Penalty of Artificial Intelligence Attribution: Moral Inferences and Recognition in LLM-Assisted Creation”

By Joana Nunes

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“Uncovering Stroke Mortality Profiles Through Clinical, Socioeconomic, and Environmental Risk Factors”

By Sara Ramalhete

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“Developing Cycling Networks to Improve Active Accessibility to Schools Using the 15-Minute City Concept”

By José Pinto

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“Secondary Education Results: A Spatiotemporal Perspective”

By Samuel Santos

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Keynote Address

Beyond the Black Box: Understanding, Interpreting and Explaining AI

Speaker: Professor Luca Longo
Associate Professor, Director of the Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Load Research Lab, University College Cork

As part of the 4^th edition of the Data Research Meetup by MagIC, we will welcome Professor Luca Longo, whose work lies at the intersection of Explainable AI, Deep Learning, and human cognition.

His keynote address will explore the importance of moving beyond the use of AI systems as “black boxes,” highlighting the need to better understand, interpret, and explain the processes behind their outputs and decisions. The session will address the relevance of Explainable AI in scientific, organizational, and social contexts, as well as the challenges involved in developing intelligent systems that are more transparent, interpretable, and aligned with human understanding.

With an international career in Explainable Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Load, Professor Luca Longo will bring a perspective on how AI can be designed, studied, and communicated in ways that make it more understandable to different audiences.

Registration Form

Registration for this event is now closed.

Funding support

This work was supported by national funds through FCT,I.P. (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia,I.P.), under the project - UID/04152/2025 - Centro de Investigação em Gestão de Informação (MagIC)/NOVA IMS (DOI: 10.54499/UID/04152/2025, and by the European Union – NextGenerationEU under the project UID/PRR/04152/2025 (DOI: 10.54499/UID/PRR/04152/2025).

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resumo do conteudo da tabela
Curricular Unit	Program	Annual Prize Value

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Location

The Data Research Meetup by MagIC will be held at INE Auditorium, NOVA IMS.

Transports
Metro: S. Sebastião (Linha Azul e Vermelha); Praça de Espanha (Linha Azul)
Carris: 701, 713, 716, 726, 742, 746, 756, 758, 770