About me

​Scientific Interests

My scientific interests focus on Foreign Policy, British Politics, the European Union, and Brexit through a mixed-methods approach. My PhD project is dedicated to British foreign policy construction in the Brexit context, under the supervision of Professor Richard G. Whitman, Dr Tim Aistrope, and Dr Philip Cunliffe. I aim to produce knowledge on how ideas emerge in the political environment and how they manage to travel within the British political elite, disentangling ideas' role in delineating foreign policy.

 

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Research Journey​

My research journey started in 2015 when I developed contemporary archival research on Portuguese foreign policy during the Great War period. This yearly project, under the supervision of Professor Gaspar Martins Pereira, was part of my BA in History at the University of Porto (Portugal) and led to my first research publications. As a student, I was deeply influenced by the ethics of Professor José Augusto de Sotto Mayor Pizarro and Professor Manuel Loff. While pursuing the MA in History, International Relations, and Cooperation at the University of Porto, my research was supervised by Dr Teresa Cierco Gomes and Dr Liliana Domingues Reis, while externally examined by Dr André Pereira Matos.

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My passion for British politics, particularly Britain's relationship with the EU, started in 2016 with the Brexit referendum. In the aftermath of the referendum, it was vital to study and understand the UK's importance and contribution to the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy, the implications of Brexit in European security, and possible scenarios for the future relationship. My master's dissertation project is entitled "Brexit: Portrayal of Implications on the Security and Defence of the European Union" (2018). Between 2018 and 2020, I worked in the Italian diplomatic services and the start-up business environment.​

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Mentoring & Teaching

I volunteer as a mentor at the Graduate and Researcher College at Kent, supporting international PhD students from diverse backgrounds and navigating their academic challenges. My journey in teaching started in 2023 as an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Kent on the Global Politics in Question module. I have also been a Visiting Assistant Lecturer at The Philipp-Univesität Marburg (Germany), where I taught Global Inequality. I then joined the Department of Risk and Disaster Reduction (DRDR) of the University College London (UCL) in 2024 as a Teaching Assistant for the Key Concepts and Debates in Humanitarianism module. Since 2024, I have also been an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA), a recognition of attainment against the Professional Standards Framework for teaching and learning support in higher education in the UK.​​

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Scientific Diplomacy

I deeply enjoy contributing actively to the academic community by engaging with issues of scientific diplomacy, including as a member of the Portuguese Association of Researchers and Students in the UK (PARSUK). As a Portuguese researcher in the UK, I have been invited to informally advise members of the Portuguese government, the Portuguese parliament, and the Portuguese Embassy in London on higher education and research issues related to the Portuguese scientific community in the UK.

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Research Dissemination & Science Communication

Communicating research and discussing academic topics with a broader audience is part of my mission to society as a researcher. I especially enjoy contributing to projects on political awareness of younger generations, having done so in Portuguese and French high schools. I have also been invited to contribute to diverse Portuguese and British media and think tanks with short pieces, live interviews, and podcasts on my topics of expertise, such as British politics in the context of elections, British foreign policy, Brexit-related issues, and securing funding for research and grant applications.

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Productivity Boost Writing Club​

I have also founded the Productivity Boost Writing Club, which promotes a supportive environment with weekly writing sessions for PhD students and Early Career Researchers. If you would like to join, please drop me a line.