Published on
Sérgio has joined CCMAR, where he will contribute to the "Science delivery" project, alongside researcher Patrícia Pinto, to bring science and technology education closer to children and young people from disadvantaged populations in the Algarve. Welcome to CCMAR!
Tell us a bit about the work you are/will be doing at CCMAR.
I have just joined CCMAR to work on the “Science Delivery” project (“Ciência Entrega-se”), bringing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education closer to children and young people of Loulé’s municipality (the social investor). In this early stage, I’m mostly supporting the project’s impact assessment process, but we also met with the school's directors and STEM teachers, listened to their needs, challenges and looked for opportunities that might be seized to help improve students' chances to succeed in STEM fields. With the start of the school year, we will begin to engage with the students and look forward to supporting CCMAR’s researchers to share their work and passion for science with the students.
What were you doing before you joined us?
In my last role I was a Conservation Coordinator at the Global Center for Species Survival, in the United States. Besides supporting the IUCN network (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) by coordinating conservation projects around the world (mostly in Japan, Brazil, Peru and Mexico). I also led my own conservation research, was an author of the US National Nature Assessment, I taught Ecology and Evolution at Indiana University and had a chance to lecture the most impactful group of people I know - young teachers. Something I will surely continue doing in the “Science Delivery” project.
Before that, I did my PhD on the statistical conservation metrics that guide the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals at the University College London, where I also taught biostatistics and also had a chance to work at the Royal Society on the interface between policy and science.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I enjoy spending time with family, ideally outdoors, learning and recording wild species and wildplaces. I have also practiced Karate from a young age, and have been fortunate to train in Europe, the US and in Japan - hope to join a dojo near CCMAR soon.
