Participation in the meeting of the national higher education and research community exceeded all expectations in 2024. 641 people registered for the initiative, the third highest turnout ever for the event.
Organized by FCCN , digital services from FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology – , the FCCN 2024 Journeys took place in Madeira, at the Pestana Casino Park and at the Madeira Congress Center, with the close support of ARDITI – Regional Agency for the Development of Research, Technology and Innovation and the University of Madeira.
102 speakers at the meeting
From April 15 to 17, there were more than 30 moments of knowledge sharing, from workshops to debate sessions and round tables, with the participation of 102 expert speakers.
This year's speakers include the Rector of the University of Madeira, Professor Sílvio Moreira Fernandes, the Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Science and Technology, Professor Francisco Santos, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of ARDITI, Professor Rui Caldeira.
These were also joined by Eng. João Nuno Ferreira and Dr. Salomé Branco, from the General Coordination of FCCN , as well as João Moreira, area director of FCCN and that this year he was part of the organization of the initiative.
Also noteworthy was the participation of keynote speaker João Canning Clode, a biologist and marine science specialist from Madeira Island.
35 organizations sponsored the Days FCCN in 2024
This edition saw the highest number of partners: 35. Of these, 12 chose the highest category of sponsorship - Platinum - 20 companies became gold sponsors and three became silver sponsors .
The list of sponsors was made up of national and international companies belonging to the areas under discussion at the meeting: Connectivity, Computing, Collaboration, Knowledge and Security.
Highlights of the closing session
At the closing session of the meeting on April 17, some of the main figures and results of this edition were presented. The people who had completed 10 years of participation in the meeting were also recognized, and João Moreira and Salomé Branco thanked the various teams that had contributed to the organization of the initiative: the Programme Committee, the Session Managers, the session speakers and Zapping FCCN and Community. Thanks were also extended to the students and volunteers present, the ARDITI team and the FCCN team, as well as the participants themselves, sponsors and suppliers.
Prizes were also awarded for the competition that took place during the initiative: "Jornadas through the Eyes of AI", which challenged participants to create images using Artificial Intelligence that represented the Jornadas FCCN in Madeira. First place went to Adriano Pinto Peres, from the University of the Algarve. Pedro Bravo, from the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Lisbon took second place, followed by José Ruben Freitas, from MARE, who won the last prize. The competition was supported by Mitel Portugal and ARDITI.
The date and location of the FCCN Days in 2025 are now known
To finish off this edition with the future in mind, the date and location of the meeting in 2025 have been announced. From May 6 to 8 next year, Coimbra will host the Jornadas FCCN.
