Digital Data Design Institute

April 2026| Nova SBE

May 2025 | Nova SBE

On May 5th, The Digital Data Design launched Human-AI Talks, a new series of events dedicated to exploring how humans interact with artificial intelligence across business, research, and society.

The inaugural session focused on the theme “AI & Society” and featured three internationally recognized experts: Sofia Bapna (UMN Carlson School of Management), Ravi Bapna (UMN Carlson School of Management), and Gordon Burtch (Digital Business Institute, Questrom School of Business, Boston University). Together, they guided participants through an engaging discussion on the opportunities and challenges of AI, sparking reflection on how technology is shaping our world today.

The event marked the beginning of this important conversation at the intersection of people and intelligent technologies, setting the stage for future editions of Human-AI Talks.

Nova SBE hosted a dinner with business leaders and renowned AI researchers from 10+ top schools worldwide, along with the “AI in Business” conference, with the participation of researchers from Nova SBE, NOVA Medical School, Harvard Business School, INSEAD, UCL, UP, University of Exeter, Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management, University of Southern California, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business sharing their research and guest speakers Sofia Tenreiro, Partner at Deloitte and Matthew Prince, CEO of Cloudfare.

On May 5th, The Digital Data Design launched Human-AI Talks, a new series of events dedicated to exploring how humans interact with artificial intelligence across business, research, and society.

The inaugural session focused on the theme “AI & Society” and featured three internationally recognized experts:

- Sofia Bapna (UMN Carlson School of Management)

- Ravi Bapna (UMN Carlson School of Management)

- Gordon Burtch (Digital Business Institute, Questrom School of Business, Boston University)

Together, they guided participants through an engaging discussion on the opportunities and challenges of AI, sparking reflection on how technology is shaping our world today.

The event marked the beginning of this important conversation at the intersection of people and intelligent technologies, setting the stage for future editions of Human-AI Talks.

On May 6th, alongside the NOVA SBE Data, Operations & Technology Knowledge Center, we hosted the second edition of “Generative AI with Agents — Immersion Day for Executives,” a DSPA - Data Science Portuguese Association initiative.

The event brought together professionals for a full day of strategic and hands-on learning. Led by Manuel Dias, National Technology Director and Executive Committee Member at Microsoft Portugal, the event explored the transformative potential of Generative AI and intelligent agents in real-world business contexts.

On July 1st, the second edition of the Human-AI Talks explored how organizations are turning Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI into real-world results — tackling challenges, sparking innovation, and delivering measurable impact. Across industries like telco and healthcare, our speaker lineup delivered hands-on use cases, valuable insights, and bold visions, all packed into a fast-paced, interactive format.

Our attendees heard the stories of Nuno da Rocha Borges (NOS SGPS), Rogério Canhoto (Automaise), Ana Rita Constante (eBreathie), André Lourenço (CardioID Technologies), and Luís Gomes (EY).

Following their keynotes, the speakers joined a panel discussion moderated by Lénia Mestrinho, Executive Director of the Digital Data Design Institute at Nova SBE and NOVA Medical School.

On July 21st and 22nd, Nova SBE welcomed the Open and User Innovation (OUI) Conference 2025!

This year’s edition, organized by the Open and User Innovation Society, the Nova SBE Open and User Innovation Knowledge Center, and the Digital Data Design Institute at Nova SBE and NOVA Medical School, brought together leading academics, practitioners, and innovation thinkers from around the world who explored cutting-edge developments in open innovation, user-driven design, and collaborative science.

Notable speakers included Miguel Pinto Luz, Minister of Infrastructures and Housing; Pedro Oliveira, Dean of Nova SBE; Karim Lakhani (Harvard Business School); David Li (Shenzhen Open Innovation Lab); Anne-Laure Fayard (Nova SBE); Chiara Farronato (Harvard Business School); and Konrad Zielinski (Uhura Bionics).

The Digital Data Design Institute at Nova SBE and NOVA Medical School was responsible for leading the Business Analytics session of the SUPERNOVA Summer School, an initiative by Universidade Nova de Lisboa designed for pre-university students aged 16 to 19.

As part of the program, participants explored how data can inform decision-making, uncover opportunities, and create real-world impact. Through hands-on activities, they experienced the process of turning raw data into insights, understanding the relevance of analytics in business and society.

The session was led by our Executive Director, Lénia Mestrinho, alongside our Fellows Laura Volpe and Joana Gonçalves.
 

On November 17 and 18, the Digital Data Design Institute at Nova SBE and NOVA Medical School co-hosted the Blockchain Confluence 2025, the 1st IEEE International Conference on Distributed Ledger Technology, held in the Universidade Nova de Lisboa.

The event brought together researchers, practitioners, industry leaders, and policymakers to discuss the technological, economic, and societal implications of blockchain and distributed systems.

Across two days, participants engaged in keynotes, debates, academic presentations, and thematic discussions covering topics such as the intersection of AI and blockchain, the future of decentralized finance (DeFi), governance and regulation of distributed technologies, blockchain culture, digital assets, and applied use cases, and new research directions emerging from academia and industry.

As part of the program, the conference also hosted the XRPL Commons Insights workshop, delivered under the Ripple Blockchain Initiative, providing participants with hands-on exposure to the XRP Ledger ecosystem and its growing role in driving real-world blockchain applications.

This conference was organized as part of BLOCKCHAIN.PT, co-funded by the Portuguese Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) and the European Union through NextGenerationEU, with the goal of positioning Portugal as a reference in blockchain research and innovation.
 

On November 21st, we joined experts from academia, government, and industry to discuss how Artificial Intelligence can transform public procurement — from improving efficiency and transparency to enabling smarter, data-driven decision-making.

The AI 4 Public Procurement event, held at Nova School of Business and Economics, brought together a diverse group of speakers who shared perspectives on the opportunities and responsibilities that come with integrating AI into public sector processes.