Building Collaborative Work Environments:The KPMG Gallery Experience & KPMG
2025-05-06 13:00 - 14:00 (Europe/Lisbon) | Nova School of Business and Economics, 1 Rua da Holanda, 2775-405 Carcavelos, Carcavelos, 2775-405, PT
Learn more about KPMG’s approach to collaborative work environments and the career opportunities that foster innovation, teamwork, and profe

KPMG Talk Series @ Nova SBE Konnect Area: Building Collaborative Work Environments – The KPMG Gallery Experience & KPMG
Tired of hearing the same old corporate buzzwords when discussing workplace culture?
Join Catarina Oliveira, Senior Advisor at KPMG Portugal, on May 6, from 13h to 14h at the K.onnect Area in the Nova SBE KPMG Gallery for an engaging session on how KPMG fosters collaboration and innovation through its unique workspaces.
💡 What to Expect:Explore how KPMG designs and nurtures collaborative work environments, the impact of the KPMG Gallery on knowledge-sharing, and how these initiatives enhance teamwork and professional growth.
Don’t miss this chance to gain insights into the future of workplace collaboration and how it can shape your career at KPMG!
Secure your spot now!

APPLICATIONS OPEN - PROTOTYPING FUND - FALL 2025 (5th Edition)
2025-08-25 08:00 - 2025-09-24 13:00
The Prototyping Fund was originally launched as a collaborative initiative between the DESIS Lab @Nova SBE and the Nova SBE Haddad Entrepreneurship Institute, created as part of the Shaping the World by Innonexus project, funded by the European Union. Over the course of the first three editions that run from September 2023 to November 2024, the program successfully supported interdisciplinary teams from Nova SBE and LSE (London School of Business) in the development of innovative prototypes, providing up to €600 or €2000* for hardware, software, and engagement activities. These teams were connected with valuable resources, tools, and mentorship to turn their ideas into reality (learn more about the awarded projects below).

In 2025, after the successful completion of the initial cycles, the Prototyping Fund returned for its 4th session on Spring 2025, led by the DESIS Lab @Nova SBE. And now we are back for the 5th edition! We are excited to continue supporting student-led innovation, and foster creativity and technological solutions across disciplines, programs, and schools at Nova University.

*For projects that were previously awarded in a previous cycle and are now seeking to reapply to further develop the initial prototype.Applications Fall 2025 – open

Applications for the Prototyping Fund Fall’25 are now open. You can apply through the following links:1st Time project applications: https://qualtricsxmrsgh8p6sp.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_01fMglOHOT8WjuC2nd Time applications (previously awarded): https://qualtricsxmrsgh8p6sp.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5zhOI4rL3UDP35I

Build the first Support Structure of our Community Garden at Nova SBE!
2025-09-22 08:00 - 2025-09-27 18:00
Ready to Get Your Hands Dirty and Turn Off Your Mind?

Join us for an incredible week of building the first support structure for our thriving community garden!

What you’ll be building:

A sustainable support shelter structure with a functional work and cleaning station that will be the foundation for future harvests and community gatherings.

What You’ll Gain:

Learn practical building skills with wood

Experience the satisfaction of creating something with your hands

Connect with like-minded community members

Take a mindful break from screens and stress

Contribute to a space dedicated to sustainability, inclusivity, and collaboration

Volunteer Time Slots

Morning Sessions:

10:30 AM – 1:00 PM (Perfect for students and early birds!) – you can choose a 1.30 hour slot when registering.

2 volunteer spots available per day

Afternoon Sessions:

2:00 PM – 5:30 PM (Great for working professionals!) – (Perfect for students and early birds!) – you can choose a 1.30 hour slot when registering.

2 volunteer spots available per day

Building Partnership

The DESIS Lab @Nova SBE are collaborating with Black Polar Bear to make this vision a reality using eco-friendly construction methods and materials.

Why Join Us?

Our community garden envisions and works to be a place where connections deepen, knowledge flows freely, and nature brings us closer together and where everyone feels an important piece of the puzzle. By volunteering, you’re helping build a community rooted in sustainability, permaculture ethics, and inclusivity.

No experience necessary! Just bring your enthusiasm, comfortable clothes you don’t mind getting dirty, and a willingness to learn.

What to Bring | O Que Trazer:

Comfortable work clothes

Closed-toe shoes

Water bottle

Sun hat

Positive energy!

About Our Garden

The Nova SBE Community Garden is a collaborative space where people connect with nature, share knowledge, and grow ideas together. Located on Rua da Holanda, we’re building bridges between the university and the surrounding neighborhood through creativity, sustainability, and collaboration.

Ready to build something amazing together? Register now and let’s grow this community, one sustainable structure at a time!https://www.eventbrite.pt/e/build-a-garden-structure-construir-um-abrigo-para-o-jardim-tickets-1571113415519?aff=oddtdtcreator

DESIGN GYM FALL'25 WORKSHOP: Designing your way through life: Design thinking for personal growth
2025-10-02 12:30 - 14:00
Join us for this hands-on and interactive workshop in which you will discover the value of embracing a design attitude to planning your future. You will have the opportunity to apply the principles of design thinking to your own life and career. In doing that you leave behind entrenched thought patterns and create space to develop your individual ideas of a life that is both, meaningful and fulfilling to you. We will leverage creative approaches and critical mindsets of the design thinking process. In particular, we will use some of the tools proposed by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans in their book Design Your Life, to help you create your inner compass.

We believe that the skills and knowledge you will gain from this workshop will be useful, no matter where you are in your life and career. It is also a great opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and expand your network.

This workshop is hosted by CEBRA, a student-led startup from the Masters in Impact Entrepreneurship and Innovation in collaboration with the DESIS Lab (Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability). CEBRA was founded last year with the mission to accelerate systems change from within through empowering young talents as intrapreneurs.

We look forward to seeing you at the workshop!

Register now to secure your spot, seats are limited. Related resources: check book here.

WhereNova School of Business and Economics – Room D004

PRICENOVA Students = 3eurosExternal Public = 5 euros

YOUR FACILITATORMarielen Winter is a former Master’s student from the Impact Entrepreneurship & Innovation program and the founder of CEBRA. Prior to joining Nova SBE she finished her Bachelor’s with a major in Sustainable Leadership and was working in the global CSR department at Beiersdorf. Marielen is also a certified yoga and meditation instructor and is currently leading the MindSpace student club at Nova SBE.

THE DESIGN GYM FALL 2025

The new Design Gym is a series of fast-paced, hands-on workshops designed to help you build and expand your design toolkit. Each 90-minute session focuses on practical, in-demand skills across a range of design practices.

But it doesn’t stop there. After each workshop, participants gain access to dedicated office hours where they can get personalized feedback from the facilitators, explore how to apply their new skills to real-world projects, and develop stronger portfolios and case studies.

Whether you’re sharpening your current capabilities or breaking into new territory, the Design Gym is here to help you confidently practice, explain, and showcase your growth as a designer.

Volunteering at the Community Garden at Nova SBE: A living Laboratory for Regenerative Community
2025-10-03 18:00 - 2025-11-22 12:00 | Community Garden at Nova SBE, Rua da Holanda, Carcavelos, Lisboa, 2775-405, Portugal
Registrations: Role To Play – LoginOur Vision: Permaculture as Community Design

In permaculture thinking, sustainable systems emerge when we align human activity with natural patterns of care, reciprocity, and regeneration. The three foundational ethics – care for the earth, care for people, and fair share – offer more than agricultural guidance; they provide a blueprint for creating communities that flourish through cooperation rather than control. Our Community Garden at Nova SBE emerges from this wisdom, transforming a simple growing space into a living demonstration of how academic institutions can nurture ecological and social resilience while fostering deep connections across generations and cultures. When we care for the earth through regenerative practices, we create abundance that can be shared equitably. When we design systems that care for people across their different needs and availabilities, we build trust and collective ownership. When we ensure fair share through transparent governance and open knowledge exchange, we create the conditions for true autonomy and collective flourishing. This approach recognizes that transformative education – one that integrates sustainability knowledge with social cohesion, intergenerational wisdom, and community resilience – reaches its fullest potential when students, neighbours, staff, and community members can witness and participate in systems that work. Not because they are managed from above, but because they are designed to be inherently regenerative. The garden becomes a space where theoretical knowledge about sustainability meets the practical wisdom of growing food, building community, and sharing resources in ways that strengthen rather than deplete the whole system. Biomimicry: Learning from Nature’s Collaboration Permaculture itself is a biomimicry innovation methodology, drawing inspiration from natural ecosystems to design human systems. In our volunteer program, we embrace this further by organizing our community around four organism archetypes, each reflecting essential functions found in thriving ecosystems. Just as forests maintain themselves through the diverse roles of different species – some build soil, others connect networks, some spread seeds, and others pollinate and cross-fertilize – our garden community thrives when each volunteer group embraces their unique contribution to the whole. The Four Volunteer Groups: Organisms in Our Garden Ecosystem We welcome a maximum of 6 volunteers per group to foster deep connections, meaningful collaboration, and personal growth within each team. Our tasks are designed not just to maintain the garden, but to develop interpersonal skills, strengthen community bonds, and deepen understanding of regenerative systems. Each group has specific tasks to complete over the 2-month volunteer period, requiring approximately 10 hours of individual commitment. With 6 volunteers per group sharing the workload collaboratively, this averages to less than 1 hour per week per person. Each volunteer gets 12 Role to Play points by the end of the semester.

Goals and Objectives of Each Working Group

The Builders – Care for the Earth ??Organism Inspiration: Ants Like ants who create the physical infrastructure that enables their entire colony to thrive, Builders focus on the tangible structures and systems that make our garden a resilient, productive space. You’ll work with soil, wood, tools, and plants, creating the foundation upon which all other garden activities depend. Your Role in the Living System: • Construct and maintain garden infrastructure (shelters, fencing, planting beds) • Develop and tend the experimental student planting zone • Ensure the physical systems support the garden’s growth and accessibility.

The Connectors – Care for People ??Organism Inspiration: Owls Owls symbolize wisdom, presence, and the ability to see the bigger picture in community life. As Connectors, you weave the social fabric that transforms individual participants into a genuine community, creating spaces where different generations, cultures, and perspectives can meet and learn from each other. Your Role in the Living System: • Design and facilitate community events and intergenerational activities • Bridge connections between students, seniors, children, and local neighbours • Create inclusive spaces where everyone feels welcomed and valued.The Storytellers – Fair Share ??Organism Inspiration: ButterfliesLike butterflies that pollinate by carrying life and beauty between flowers, Storytellers ensure that the garden’s knowledge, experiences, and abundance reach the wider community. You make the invisible visible, sharing the garden’s stories in ways that inspire others and attract resources and partnerships. Your Role in the Living System: • Capture and share garden stories through photos, videos, and written narratives • Design visual communication (signage, social media, documentation) • Create pathways for knowledge sharing and community engagement.The Pollinators – Connecting All Systems ??Organism Inspiration: BeesBees are essential for ecosystem health because they cross-pollinate, creating connections that enable entire systems to reproduce and evolve. As Pollinators, you move between all the other groups, facilitating collaboration, identifying synergies, and helping the garden ecosystem adapt and grow through strategic partnerships and knowledge exchange. Your Role in the Living System: • Facilitate collaboration between all volunteer groups • Research and develop strategic partnerships with local organizations • Support knowledge transfer between the garden and academic curricula • Identify opportunities for system-wide growth and evolution.

Semester Plan (October 3 – November 22):

Each role has its own way of contributing: building, connecting, sharing stories, cross-pollinating, but always working as part of the same ecosystem.

We will meet 5 times in person (1 next Friday and the others on Saturday mornings – October 11, October 25, November 15 and November 22 for a final sharing of the deliverables). These are our main workdays where you’ll collaborate with your group and the wider team.

You will also have a bank of hours to complete the 10h for tasks outside Saturdays (that you may end up using or not. If the deliverables are completed you will receive the 12 points anyway), which you can manage flexibly with your group.

Beyond Barriers: Queer Voices in Health & Rights (movie, talk & activity)
2025-10-13 14:30 - 16:00 | Nova School of Business and Economics, Rua da Holanda, Campus de Carcavelos - Nova SBE, Carcavelos, 2775-405, Portugal
Join us for an inspiring and thought-provoking session with Pushpa Joshi, our 8th Social Innovator in Residence at DESIS Lab @Nova SBE from the ERA Chair in Social Innovation. This special event, co-organized with the NOVA SBE Pride Association Student Club, brings global queer experiences into conversation with local realities.

Pushpa Joshi is a remarkable social researcher and advocate working at the intersection of sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) and LGBTI+ issues in Nepal. Her groundbreaking work includes leading the research project “Queering Access”, which explores the experiences of queer people navigating Nepal’s SRHR landscape, and directing a powerful documentary on the menstruation-related experiences of trans men in Nepal.

What to Expect:

Exclusive Documentary ScreeningWatch Pushpa’s recent short documentary on the menstruation-related experiences of trans men in Nepal – a powerful piece that challenges conventional narratives and brings visibility to underrepresented voices.

Facilitated ConversationEngage in an open dialogue co-facilitated by Pushpa Joshi and members of the NOVA SBE Pride Association Student Club. Explore:

Key insights from Pushpa’s research and storytelling work

Challenges and approaches to inclusive Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights

Global perspectives on queer activism and lived experiences

Intersections between LGBTI+ rights and healthcare access

Interactive WorkshopParticipate in a hands-on activity designed by Pushpa, connecting the themes explored in the documentary to broader topics of social innovation, advocacy, and inclusive design.

Registrations: https://www.eventbrite.pt/e/beyond-barriers-queer-voices-in-health-rights-movie-talk-activity-tickets-1668701594389?aff=oddtdtcreator

About Our Social Innovator in Residence & Speaker

Pushpa Joshi is a young activist from Nepal with over a decade of experience advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), adolescent sexuality, and gender equality. She co-founded YoSHAN (Youth-led SRHR Advocacy Nepal), where she leads youth-centered, feminist initiatives.

An experienced educator, Pushpa has trained healthcare providers on rights-based SRHR services, supported teachers in delivering human rights-based sexuality education, and empowered thousands of young people in advocacy and movement building. Her work emphasizes structural reform, intersectionality, and creating inclusive spaces, especially for marginalized communities.

Currently pursuing a Master’s in Gender Studies, she also uses photography and filmmaking to amplify gender justice and lived experiences.

About the Organizers

DESIS Lab @Nova SBE from the ERA Chair in Social Innovation is a design research lab focused on social innovation and sustainability. Through our Social Innovator in Residence program, we bring inspiring changemakers to our campus to share their work, spark meaningful dialogue, and build connections with our students, faculty, and broader community.

NOVA SBE Pride Association Student Club is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Nova SBE community, with a special focus on LGBTQIA+ rights and visibility. https://novaprideassociation.wordpress.com/

Who Should Attend

This event is perfect for:

Students, faculty, and staff interested in LGBTI+ issues and social justice

Researchers working on gender, sexuality, and health topics

Social innovators and activists

Anyone curious about global perspectives on queer rights and advocacy

Members and allies of the LGBTQIA+ community

Important Information

Language: English with Portuguese Q&A support available

Accessibility: Venue is wheelchair accessible

Capacity Limited: Early registration recommended

Contact Information

For questions about this event, please contact:DESIS Lab: erachair@novasbe.pt

Voices from the Himalayas - 3 stories of Nepalese women
2025-10-16 18:30 - 20:00 | Tasca das Artes, R. Prof. Celestino da Costa, Lisboa, Lisboa, 1170-322, Portugal
Join us for an evening of powerful storytelling and meaningful conversation as we present “Voices from the Himalayas – 3 Stories of Nepalese Women,” featuring three compelling short documentaries by filmmaker and activist Pushpa Joshi.

This special screening is part of our collaboration with Olhares do Mediterrâneo – Women’s Film Festival and will take place at Tasca das Artes, bringing together cinema, activism, and community dialogue in one inspiring space.

Pushpa Joshi, our Social Innovator in Residence Fall 2025, is a young activist from Nepal with over a decade of experience advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), adolescent sexuality, and gender equality. She co-founded YoSHAN (Youth-led SRHR Advocacy Nepal), where she leads youth-centered, feminist initiatives. Currently pursuing a Master’s in Gender Studies, Pushpa uses photography and filmmaking to amplify gender justice and lived experiences.

The three films – Lalita, Veiled, and Tarang – tell stories of women navigating challenges that society often presents to them. Each film portrays how women seek dignity, love, and freedom in their own unique ways, even when faced with silence, stigma, or societal expectations. Together, they remind us of the everyday strength it takes to be yourself and to make choices in a world that doesn’t always make it easy.

Agenda:

Intro from DESIS Lab @Nova SBE and ERA Chair in Social Innovation representative and Festival Olhares do Mediterrâneo

Film Screening: Three powerful short documentaries exploring themes of gender, identity, and resilience

Conversation with Pushpa Joshi: Join us for an intimate discussion about the films, her work, and the intersection of activism and storytelling

Cocktail Reception: Stay for finger food and drinks, connect with Pushpa, and continue the conversation

Date & Time: October 16, 2025Location: Tasca das ArtesDuration: 90 minutesEntry: Free

A special thank you to our partners Olhares do Mediterrâneo – Women’s Film Festival for this meaningful collaboration and to Tasca das Artes for hosting us in their welcoming space!

Come for the stories, stay for the connections!

DESIGN GYM FALL'25 WORKSHOP: Turn Design Research into a Business Superpower
2025-10-22 12:30 - 14:00
This hands-on workshop will show you how design research can become your ultimate innovation superpower. You’ll learn to sharpen your empathy radar and transform everyday interactions into actionable insights to create transformative value propositions and thoughtful, sustainable solutions for society, organizations, and communities.

Through dynamic, practical exercises, we’ll explore how small observations and authentic conversations can spark big ideas: supporting you to shape innovations that truly matter, beyond the obvious and beyond the extractive.

What to Expect

Fieldwork at your fingertips → fast, practical research methods you can use anywhere to understand people and contexts deeply.

Curiosity in action → how to observe, ask better questions, and uncover hidden needs and aspirations.

From clues to strategy → turn everyday discoveries into business opportunities into value for organizations, communities, and the world.

Superpowered collaboration → an open space to exchange perspectives, foster empathy, and transform noise into actionable insight.

If you believe creativity, empathy, and human connection are the real edge in a VUCA world, come discover your superpowers.

Where

Nova School of Business and Economics – Room B130

PRICENOVA Students = 3eurosExternal Public = 5 euros

YOUR FACILITATOR

Daniela Basílio is an Innovation Consultant, Designer, and Facilitator with 12+ years of experience helping organizations transform insights into impactful action. She has led projects for global players such as IKEA, Roche, Leroy Merlin, and Fidelidade, always with a focus on human-centered research and practical innovation.

Her belief: the right questions—asked with empathy and curiosity—are the real superpower for creating innovation that benefits everyone, where others might only see noise.

Join us to activate your human superpowers and see opportunities to make meaningful difference!

THE DESIGN GYM FALL 2025

The new Design Gym is a series of fast-paced, hands-on workshops designed to help you build and expand your design toolkit. Each 90-minute session focuses on practical, in-demand skills across a range of design practices.

But it doesn’t stop there. After each workshop, participants gain access to dedicated office hours where they can get personalized feedback from the facilitators, explore how to apply their new skills to real-world projects, and develop stronger portfolios and case studies.

Whether you’re sharpening your current capabilities or breaking into new territory, the Design Gym is here to help you confidently practice, explain, and showcase your growth as a designer.

C3 Project Celebration & KPMG Career Opportunities | Where Creativity Meets Consultancy
2025-10-30 11:00 - 12:45 | KPMG Gallery at Nova SBE, Rua da Holanda, Campus de Carcavelos - Nova SBE, Carcavelos, 2775-405, Portugal
#careeraction

Where Creativity Meets Consultancy

Are you a student interested in consulting careers that combine business expertise with social impact?

Join us for an exclusive opportunity to explore purpose-driven career paths at KPMG Portugal while celebrating the C3: Community, Collaboration, Creativity project, a collaboration that brought new dynamics, identity, and colour to our campus spaces.

Network with senior KPMG professionals and discuss work opportunities while experiencing how consultancy drives creative community impact.

Event Structure

Lightning Talks (40min)

“Building a Purpose-Driven Career at KPMG” – Catarina Azevedo, People & Culture Director

“Building Collaborative Work Environments” – Catarina Oliveira, Senior Advisor

“What Does Consultancy Have to Do with Sustainability?” – Renato Monteiro, ESG & Sustainability Consultant

“Leading Change Through Design” – Former KPMG Design Fellow

Networking & Career discussions (60 minutes)

Structured networking with refreshments, meet KPMG decision makers, learn about current opportunities, and explore career paths in consulting, sustainability, and innovation.

Interactive Exhibition (All Day – not integrated in the event timings. Visit whenever)

Walk through the C3 transformation story – from community mapping to the colourful installations you see today: Stained Glass, Quiet Kube, Konnect collaborative area, and green spaces that brought new freedom of movement and identity to the gallery.

What students will gain

Career Insights: Direct access to KPMG professionals across People & Culture, Sustainability, and InnovationRecruitment Opportunity: Meet hiring decision makers and learn about current openingsSkills Connection: See how project experience translates to consulting careersAcademic Credit: Available through Career Services integration

Who should attend

Students interested in consulting careers, sustainability/ESG roles, innovation or impact driven positions, or the KPMG Ambassadors Program. Also valuable for anyone involved in community projects wanting to understand how these skills apply in corporate settings.The C3 project

The C3 project was led by the DESIS (DESIGN for Social Innovation and Sustainability) Lab @ NOVA SBE from the ERA Chair in Social Innovation, which focus on unleashing a new generation of future leaders who are aware of the impact they want to have in their lives and know exactly which ways of behavior they can utilize to balance demanding work with a joyful life.The DESIS Lab is the programming and community engagement arm of the ERA Chair in Social Innovation. We believe that to innovate with purpose and develop sustainable solutions to complex social issues requires creative collaboration and a design thinking mindset. It is part of the DESIS International network, a group of academics, researchers and students who orient their design and research activities towards social innovation. If you want to know more: https://socialinnova-chair.com/desis-lab/

Workshop with Nam - Grow your own mushrooms
2025-11-03 12:30 - 13:15 | Nova School of Business and Economics, R. da Holanda 1, Carcavelos, Carcavelos, 2775-405, Portugal
In this hands-on and theoretical workshop, we’ll explore how to grow mushrooms at home in a simple, fun, and sustainable way. Through accessible demonstrations, you’ll learn how to set up your own DIY mushroom growing kit and get to know the fascinating fungal life cycle.

Perfect for anyone curious about growing their own food and exploring regenerative growing practices!

🍄 With NAM, a Portuguese brand that turns used coffee grounds into delicious mushrooms, promoting circular economy and accessible urban farming.

💶 Cost: €5 (includes a take-home kit)Nova SBE staff will have priority, but the workshop is open to all! We’ll send a confirmation email.

This workshop is promoted by DESIS Lab @Nova SBE, in partnership with Nãm, under the Community Garden at Nova SBE project, aiming to bring new educational opportunities in sustainable and regenerative planting.

DESIGN GYM FALL'25 WORKSHOP: Biomimicry Design as a Spark for Innovation
2025-11-12 12:30 - 14:00 | Nova School of Business & Economics, R. da Holanda 1, 2775-405 Carcavelos, Portugal, Lisbon, 2775-405, Portugal
What if the smartest designer in the room isn’t human, but nature itself?

Biomimicry is the practice of learning from 3.8 billion years of natural wisdom. From bees making democratic decisions, to pine trees creating shade for entire ecosystems, to lichens thriving in harsh conditions, nature offers strategies we can apply to our daily challenges.

In this hands-on 90-minute workshop, you’ll:

Discover surprising stories of how local organisms collaborate, adapt, and thrive.

Reflect on how these patterns already show up in human systems like leadership, teamwork, and community life.

Work in groups with “mentor organisms” from our local environment (Cascais) to design creative solutions for real challenges in our Community Garden at Nova SBE.

Leave inspired to see nature not as a resource to extract, but as a mentor to learn from and protect.

No background in biology needed! just curiosity and an open mind. Whether you study business, ecology, design, or simply love new perspectives, this workshop is for you.

Who is it for?

Students, community members, and anyone curious about creativity, leadership, and sustainability.

No prior knowledge of biomimicry or biology required.

Structure (90 min)

Opening

Introduction: What is biomimicry + inspiring examples.

Nature stories: Bees, ants, starlings, pines… and what they teach us.

Group Challenge: Work with local “mentor organisms” to solve a real garden challenge.

Sharing & Reflection: Seeing ourselves as part of nature.

WhereCommunity Garden at Nova SBE (depending on the weather)

PRICENOVA Students = 3eurosExternal Public = 5 euros

THE FACILITATOR

Beatriz Bento is the current DESIS Lab @Nova SBE Community Manager, a Teaching Assistant at Nova SBE at Design Thinking for Social Innovation and Leading Social Enterprises with Impact in International Development coursesand recently became a certified biomimicry educator, passionate about connecting people with nature through creative learning experiences, also leveraging her background in Arts.

THE DESIGN GYM FALL 2025

The new Design Gym is a series of fast-paced, hands-on workshops designed to help you build and expand your design toolkit. Each 90-minute session focuses on practical, in-demand skills across a range of design practices.

But it doesn’t stop there. After each workshop, participants gain access to dedicated office hours where they can get personalized feedback from the facilitators, explore how to apply their new skills to real-world projects, and develop stronger portfolios and case studies.

Whether you’re sharpening your current capabilities or breaking into new territory, the Design Gym is here to help you confidently practice, explain, and showcase your growth as a designer.

Research Seminar – Madeleine Rauch
2025-11-12 14:30 - 16:00 | TBD, Rua da Holanda, Campus de Carcavelos - Nova SBE, Lisboa, 2775-405, Portugal
What Are We Even Doing Here? Nurses’ Experiences of Moral Injury during the Pandemic

Abstract:

Professionals are driven by deeply held professional moral values in carrying out their work. However, in crises, these very values are violated, which places unprecedented strain on professionals. How do professionals respond when their moral values are violated?

To address this question, I study how the Covid-19 pandemic challenged nurses’ professional moral values, and how they addressed these challenges. My analysis is based on 51 unsolicited personal diaries of nurses working in Covid wards across the U.S., as well as 118 interviews, documents, and observational data. My findings reveal that nurses experienced moral injury when working during the pandemic violated their deeply-held professional moral values, resulting in feelings of shame and guilt.

They responded by following three distinct paths—adopting, avoiding, or adhering to their professional moral values—characterized by different approaches to emotional regulation. These approaches affect both professional work and organizational retention.

The study reframes moral injury as an organizational phenomenon shaping both the ability to conduct professional work as well as long-term retention; illuminates how moral values in crisis situations are adapted, avoided and adhered to; and reveals how emotional regulation is not just driven by social norms but also by deeply held moral values.

Location: Nova – Room: D133

Speaker: Madeleine is Associate Professor of Strategy & International Business at the University of Cambridge, Judge Business School

Plant Propagation Festival - for all family
2025-11-15 10:00 - 12:00 | Community Garden at Nova SBE, Rua da Holanda, Campus de Carcavelos - Nova SBE, Lisboa, 2775-405, Portugal
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.pt/e/plant-propagation-festival-festival-de-propagacao-de-plantas-tickets-1829904386279?aff=oddtdtcreatorJoin us for a morning celebrating nature, community, and learning at the Community Garden at Nova SBE !

What We’ll Do:

Discover the plants and bushes planted a few years ago at Navigator Park, now part of our community garden at Nova SBE

Learn proper cutting techniques that protect plant health

Master plant propagation methods for gardens and homes

Share food and stories during a live music performance

Special activities for children!

Come experience our urban garden spaces, care for them together, meet new neighbors, and enjoy a wonderful morning learning about nature, Portuguese music, and diverse cultures. An ecosystem thrives in diversity, and so does our community!

What to Bring:Something to share! Bring food or drinks to enjoy together as we celebrate our garden community.

Research Seminar - Marya Becharov
2026-02-02 14:30 - 16:00 | TBD, Rua da Holanda, Campus de Carcavelos - Nova SBE, Lisboa, 2775-405, Portugal
Professor of Organisations and Impact and Academic Director of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, Said Business School, Oxford University

Professor Becharov will present a paper co-authored with Meng Zhao

Title: The intra-organizational dynamics of social innovation adaptation: Grameen Bank goes to China

Abstract: A central challenge for organizations seeking to scale social innovations involves “adaptation fidelity”—tailoring innovations to heterogenous contexts without compromising core principles. Because employees often disagree over whether and how innovations should be changed, intra-organizational dynamics likely shape the emergence and spread of adaptation fidelity, but this process remains poorly understood as existing work has focused on the role of external stakeholder engagement. Our qualitative, inductive case study of implementing the Grameen Bank microcredit model in China unpacks the intra-organizational dynamics of adaptation fidelity. Facing implementation challenges, many employees engaged in “expedient adaptation”, abandoning prescribed practices in order to quickly enlist borrowers. In contrast, a few engaged in “principled adaptation”, creatively adjusting prescribed practices while preserving the Grameen principle of developing social capital. As expedient adaptation spread and precipitated a crisis, principled adapters enlisted the founder, converted colleagues, and formalized their approach, ultimately enabling the organization to achieve adaptation fidelity and scale the Grameen model across China. Building on these findings, we develop a process model explaining adaptation fidelity as an emergent outcome of interdependent, reinforcing loops involving varying forms of adaptation, with implications for research on social innovation and systems perspectives in organization theory.

EVERY THURSDAY: Open Garden – Guardians’ Seedling Maternity
2026-02-26 10:00 - 13:00 | Community Garden at Nova SBE, Rua da Holanda, Carcavelos, Cascais, 2775-405, Portugal
The Community Garden at Nova SBE is a living laboratory for regenerative community design. Join our Open Garden Mornings and help care for the Seedling Maternity, our plant nursery that grows seedlings for the garden.

Contribute hands-on by sowing seeds, transplanting seedlings, watering, or helping maintain the garden infrastructure. Participation is flexible, join whenever you can, stay for as long as you like, and if you are a student enroled at the Role to Play, earn 3 Role to Play points per 2-hour session.

No prior experience needed, just enthusiasm and a willingness to get your hands in the soil!

Design Gym - Collaborative Ideation: Turning Ideas into Impactful Solutions
2026-02-26 12:30 - 14:00 | Nova SBE, Rua da Holanda, Lisbon, Lisbon
In this hands-on workshop, we’ll explore practical ideation techniques to generate creative solutions that are grounded in research, user needs, and real-world constraints.

What to Expect

Learning about ideation principles and some tools for generating creative ideas

Case studies

Hands-on activity in teams to practice collaborative idea generation

The new Design Gym is a series of fast-paced, hands-on workshops designed to help you build and expand your design toolkit. Each 90-minute session focuses on practical, in-demand skills across a range of design practices.

But it doesn’t stop there. After each workshop, participants gain access to dedicated office hours where they can get personalized feedback from the facilitators, explore how to apply their new skills to real-world projects, and develop stronger portfolios and case studies.

Whether you’re sharpening your current capabilities or breaking into new territory, the Design Gym is here to help you confidently practice, explain, and showcase your growth as a designer.

Register here through Eventbrit Office Gym → March 4Facilitator: Joana Lima Villas

PRICENOVA Students = 3eurosExternal Public = 5 euros

Joana Lima Villas is Head of Design and a Senior UX Designer with over 12 years of experience building products, teams, and design systems across Web3, fintech, media, and technology. She works at the intersection of strategy and execution, focusing on scaling design, developing people, and embedding design thinking within organizations. She is passionate about leadership grounded in clarity, empathy, and collaboration. Outside of work, her three children remind her daily that curiosity and emotion are the best tools a designer can have.

DESIS Lab and ERA Chair in Social Innovation at NovaSBE

erachair@novasbe.pt

Research Seminar - Hahrie Han
2026-03-02 14:30 - 16:00 | TBD, Rua da Holanda, Campus de Carcavelos - Nova SBE, Lisboa, 2775-405, Portugal
Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University and inaugural Director of SNF Agora

Title: Estrategies for Engaging People in Social Action: Lessons from American Evangelicalism

Abstract: One of the big challenges for social change efforts around the world is the challenge of pulling people off the sidelines into public life. What kind of strategies are most effective for getting people engaged? This talk draws on lessons from evangelical megachurches in America. These megachurches pull more people together on a weekly basis than any other civic or political organization in the United States, and have a number of lessons that are applicable outside the faith context.

The Research Seminar Series is organized and sponsored by the ERA Chair in Social Innovation in partnership with the Management and Organizations Group at Nova School of Business and Economics.

Stay tuned for upcoming talks from the Research Seminar Series.

Threads of a Practice Exhibition
2026-03-11 12:30 - 17:00
Two years ago, Homelore began as a question whispered within these very walls. What if we leveraged ancestral knowledge from diaspora women and guided them to become the authors of their own stories in thread? What if the needle could become a tool for claiming space, for stitching presence into places designed to render certain lives invisible?This exhibition traces the growth of an idea into an organisation. What started as a small incubator project has blossomed into a platform where artisans in Lisbon gather, create, and redefine what it means to carry tradition forward.Here, you will witness the process—the sketches, the experiments, the conversations held in thread. You will see technique evolve as stitches from Punjab meet those from Bangladesh, as Sindhi patterns converse with Portuguese influences. You will encounter the archives of our neighbourhood maps, and glimpse the new directions our hands are reaching toward.Homelore at two years remains rooted in its origin of this university, and this city, but its branches extend outward. The work continues. The stitches multiply. The question that started it all now echoes beyond these walls, carried by the women who stitch their answers into being.

A project led by Riddhi Varma, a recent graduate in Masters’ in Management and current DESIS Lab Fellow, Homelore is a women-led collective exploring evolving neocultures shaped by diasporic experiences through traditional craft techniques.

Their practice centers on collaboration, bringing together female artisans from diverse diasporic backgrounds, creating works that weave together personal narratives, shared histories, and the vibrant textures of life in a globalized world.

Agenda:

Exhibition: “ Threads of a Practice’.”

Opening: March 11 at 12:30 PM

Guided tour of the exhibition led by Ridhi and an artisan

A toast to mark the moment

Date & Time: March 11, 2026 to April 11, 2026Location: NOVA SBE Carcavelos – K.onnect Zone

Check here

Open Day at the Community Garden | Dia Aberto no Jardim Comunitário
2026-03-14 10:00 - 12:00 | Community Garden at Nova SBE, Rua da Holanda, Carcavelos, Cascais, 2775-405, Portugal
PT BELOWOn March 14th, we invite you to step into our Community Garden at Nova SBE as a visitor and as an active participant in a living regenerative system!

This Open Day is designed as an immersive experience where students and community members:

Engage in meaningful hands-on garden activities

Learn abour our planting area and Guardian’s program

Connect with a growing network of changemakers

You can join us anytime from 10am to 12pm! We want to introduce you to our special space and have you enjoy it and dream with us!

See you in the Garden!🌿 Registrations HERE

—–No dia 14 de março convidamos-te a entrar no nosso Jardim Comunitário na Nova SBE — como visitante e como participante ativo num sistema vivo e regenerativo.

Este Dia Aberto foi pensado como uma experiência imersiva e acessível a estudantes e membros da comunidade que queiram descobrir como a sustentabilidade se transforma em prática.

Durante a manhã poderás:

Participar em atividades práticas no jardim

Conhecer melhor as nossas áreas de plantação e o desenho do espaço

Descobrir o Programa de Guardiões e como podes integrar

Conectar com uma rede crescente de pessoas com propósito

Imaginar novas possibilidades para espaços regenerativos na universidade

Podes juntar-te a nós em qualquer momento entre as 10h00 e as 12h00 — ficar 20 minutos ou toda a manhã.

Queremos apresentar-te este espaço especial, que o possas desfrutar e sonhar connosco sobre o seu futuro.

Esperamos por ti no jardim! 🌿 Inscrições AQUI.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/open-day-at-the-community-garden-dia-aberto-no-jardim-comunitario-tickets-1983081913386?aff=oddtdtcreator

Embroidery Workshop
2026-03-17 12:00 - 15:00
A hands-on, guided session exploring traditional stitches like the Chain stitch. Participants will learn the meditative rhythm of embroidery while discussing its historical journey across borders and its role in reclaiming local spaces. No experience needed, all materials will be available to use in class.

Homelore at two years remains rooted in its origin of this university, and this city, but its branches extend outward. The work continues. The stitches multiply. The question that started it all now echoes beyond these walls, carried by the women who stitch their answers into being.A project led by Riddhi Varma, a recent graduate in Masters’ in Management and current DESIS Lab Fellow, Homelore is a women-led collective exploring evolving neocultures shaped by diasporic experiences through traditional craft techniques.

Their practice centers on collaboration, bringing together female artisans from diverse diasporic backgrounds, creating works that weave together personal narratives, shared histories, and the vibrant textures of life in a globalized world.

Agenda:

Workshop: “ Threads of a Practice’.”

Date & Time: March 17, 2026 – 12h – 15hLocation: NOVA SBE Carcavelos – D134

Design Gym - Antecipatory innovation to design human-centered public services and policies
2026-04-08 12:30 - 14:00 | Nova SBE, Rua da Holanda 1, Carcavelos, Lisbon
Overview

Despite our good intentions when designing a new service or a public policy, it is essential to understand the impacts associated with the implementation of the service or public policy. This is why it is essential when developing new services to embrace an anticipatory innovation stance: imagine the future impact of the imagined solutions and consider potential unintended consequences.

In this workshop, we will explore consequence scanning, an instrument that allows you to appeal to the different points of view brought by all stakeholders in a project to anticipate and map all the consequences, positive or negative, that partners anticipate for its implementation. The information generated with these processes is very useful not only to mitigate possible negative impacts of a project, but also to create spaces of opportunity to expand its positive consequences.

What to Expect

In this session, you will be able to understand the importance of anticipatory innovation (and foresight) in the implementation of services and to know how to apply the methodology for consequence scanning. This workshop is of interest for individuals interested in innovation in the public sector and / or in anticipatory innovation and foresight methodologies (in all sectors)

The new Design Gym is a series of fast-paced, hands-on workshops designed to help you build and expand your design toolkit. Each 90-minute session focuses on practical, in-demand skills across a range of design practices.

But it doesn’t stop there. After each workshop, participants gain access to dedicated office hours where they can get personalized feedback from the facilitators, explore how to apply their new skills to real-world projects, and develop stronger portfolios and case studies.

Whether you’re sharpening your current capabilities or breaking into new territory, the Design Gym is here to help you confidently practice, explain, and showcase your growth as a designer.

Room: B131https://www.eventbrite.pt/e/antecipatory-innovation-to-design-human-centered-public-services-tickets-1984129909972?aff=oddtdtcreator

PRICENOVA Students = 3 eurosExternal Public = 5 euros

Office Gym → 14 April (online)Facilitator: Jorge Lagarto

DESIS Lab and ERA Chair in Social Innovation at NovaSBE

erachair@novasbe.pt

Jorge Lagarto is founding member and currently Director of LabX – Center for Innovation in the Public Sector. After starting his career working in consulting and project management, he spent many years in the public sector, particularly in the areas of innovation, digital transformation, and servicedesign. He holds a degree in Environmental Engineering and a specialization in eLearning Pedagogy and Instructional Design.

Workshop: Plantas & Neurociência | Plants & Neuroscience
2026-04-09 10:30 - 12:30
Why do plants make us feel so good, and what can we learn from them?

This 2-hour workshop explores what happens in our brain when we engage with nature , covering attention, creativity, stress regulation, mood and relationships. We’ll combine neuroscience insights with hands-on gardening, so you leave with both understanding and practical tools to connect more deeply with plants and nature.

No science background needed, just curiosity and a willingness to get your hands in soil.

About the facilitator

Marion Oberhuber,Neuroscience PhD and founder of The Plant Wisdom Project. Works in mental health tech and on the side, loves exploring how plants restore attention, unlock creativity and help us think differently. Follow @plantwisdomproject for more.

Get your spot here – Workshop: Plantas & Neurociência | Plants & Neuroscience

Design Jam for Impact
2026-04-11 10:30 - 17:00
Overview

Design jam for impact: Let’s collaborate and co-create to tackle social and sustainability issues.

Join us for our 5 edition of the DESIGN JAM FOR IMPACTorganized by the DESIS Lab @ Nova SBE and the DESIS Lab @ FAUL.This is an amazing opportunityto engage in multi-disciplinary collaboration to design, iterate and refine impactful solutions to address social and environmental issues.

WHAT WILL WE DO

The day will be fast-paced and full of hands-on activities to allow you collaboratively generate innovative solutions to help six projects (from NovaSBE and FAUL students and social entrepreneurs tackling social and environmental issues).

We will practice design thinking and learn practical tools to nurture your creative problem-solving and develop meaningful and sustainable solutions to tackle complex social and environmental issues in our communities.

Design thinking is a powerful approach to help develop insights into problems that generate solutions that may otherwise remain hidden to you.

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?

Multidisciplinary communication and collaboration, journey maps, prototyping, scenarios and storytelling.

HOW?

As a participant, you will be a creative collaborator. As such you will work with 6 projects which address a social and / or environmental issue. They are passionate by their idea but they also believe in the power of collaboration and diversity, and are looking for creative inputs and different perspectives.

The workshop will be facilitated mainly by Anne-Laure Fayard (Nova SBE) and Inês Veiga (FAUL)(See below to know more about our team).

WHO?

If you are passionate about impact and want to hone your design thinking skills, flex your creative muscles and nurture your collaborative power, sign up and join us on April 11th!

PROJECTS:Participant projects will be announced soon

This event is OPEN to all people interested in collaborating and co-creating for social impact. We have a limited number of seats.

-> Lunch will be provided

OUR TEAM

Anne-Laure Fayard, ERA Chair Professor of Social Innovation, coordinator of Nova DESIS (design for social innovation and sustainability) Lab, and Visiting Research Professor at NYU …. And most of all a passionate design thinker who cares for impact!

Inês Veiga, Assistant Professor at FA-ULisboa, designer and designer researcher crossing graphic design with intervention and local and social causes.

We will also have the chance to have the participation of a few special mentors both from DESIS Lab@NovaSBE and DESIS Lab @ FAUL mentors:

-> Graziela Sousa, designer, DESIS @ FAUL-> António Gorgel, designer, DESIS @ FAUL-> Joana Lima Villas, UX design lead, DESIS Lab @ Nova SBE mentor-> Maria Folque Guimarães, Community Manager at Nova SBE Innovation Ecosystem, DESIS Lab @ Nova SBE mentor

Get your tickets here

Research Seminar - Marion Poetz
2026-04-13 14:30 - 16:00 | TBD, Rua da Holanda, Campus de Carcavelos - Nova SBE, Lisboa, 2775-405, Portugal
Associate Professor of Innovation Management at the Department of Strategy and Innovation at Copenhagen Business School (CBS)

Non-scientist stakeholder involvement and research impact: causal evidence from patient and public participation in medical research

Marion Poetz, co-authored with Paul-Emmanuel Anckaert, Egor Burda, Christoph Grimpe, Paul Hünermund and Rossella Salandra

Opening the scientific research process to non-scientist stakeholders, such as patients or the public at large, has been argued to enhance both scientific and societal outcomes. At the same time, concerns remain about whether such involvement may compromise scientific rigour or generate trade-offs between scientific and societal impact.

We examine these competing perspectives in the context of medical research, focusing on Patient and Public Involvement (PPI). Using a sample of 20,137 articles published between 2009 and 2019 in the ten leading general medicine journals, we investigate whether PPI is causally linked to scientific and societal impact.

We exploit the British Medical Journal’s 2014 policy mandating PPI reporting as an exogenous source of variation in PPI and estimate causal effects using a two-stage least squares approach.

Our results show that PPI increases scientific impact, measured as scholarly citations, and enhances scientific novelty. Its effects on societal impact are differential across impact channels: while PPI increases citations in clinical practice guidelines, it is associated with fewer citations in policy documents.

These findings suggest that involving non-scientist stakeholders in medical research can enhance scientific rigour, while its relationship with broader policy influence and practice-oriented impact is more nuanced.

Adopt a Guild in our Garden | Adopte uma Guilda no nosso Jardim
2026-04-18 10:00 - 17:00
Adopt a Guild – Become a Guardian of Regeneration

The Adopt a Guild Program invites students and community members to take responsibility for a small plant guild within our Community Garden.

A guild is a carefully designed micro-ecosystem where plants, soil, fungi and biodiversity interact in mutual support.

By adopting a guild, you will:

Learn ecological design in practice

Develop long-term stewardship skills

Monitor, maintain and care for your guild

Have your name associated with your adopted space

Contribute actively to the resilience of the garden

Adoption requires participation in the mandatory Permaculture Introduction Workshop on April 18th, 2026 and a small one time contribution fee to support materials and garden maintenance (10euros).

This adoption is a commitment to learning, responsibility, and regenerative action.

Registrations to be a Guild caretaker HEREApplications for the mandatory workshop HERE. Limited guilds available.

🇵🇹

Adoptar uma Guilda – Torna-te Guardião da Regeneração

O Programa Adopta uma Guilda convida estudantes e membros da comunidade a assumirem a responsabilidade por uma pequena guilda no nosso Jardim Comunitário.

Uma guilda é um micro-ecossistema desenhado intencionalmente, onde plantas, solo, fungos e biodiversidade interagem de forma cooperativa.

Ao adotar uma guilda vais:

Aprender design ecológico na prática

Desenvolver competências de cuidado e responsabilidade a longo prazo

Monitorizar e manter a tua guilda

Ter o teu nome associado ao espaço adotado

Contribuir diretamente para a resiliência do jardim

A adopção implica participação obrigatória no Workshop de Introdução à Permacultura (18 de Abril, 2026) e o pagamento de uma pequena taxa de contribuição única (10 euros) para materiais e manutenção.

Esta adopção é um compromisso com aprendizagem e regeneração 🙂

Inscrições para ser adoptar uma guilda AQUIInscrições para o workshop de Permacultura e Programa AQUI.Vagas limitadas.

Community Cohesion in Action
2026-04-22 18:00 - 20:00
A conversation with Suhayla Bazbaz, mexican political scientist dedicated to human rights and social justice

In this talk, “Community Cohesion in Action: retrospective, prospective and learnings” Suhayla Bazbaz Kuri will reflect on her experience as a community organizer and social activist. In particular, she will reflect on CCIS, the organization she founded and directs.

CCIS has been working to strengthen community cohesion and social innovation in Mexico for 17 years. In this public conversation, she will address some of the milestones of their work on issues such as human rights, violence and crime prevention, megaprojects, the energy transition, and urban transformation, and she will reflect on the scope and limits of this work in light of the present and the future.

Check the Eventbrite here and reserve your spot

When:22 April – 18h – 20h

Where:

Casa do Impacto, LisboaTravessa de São Pedro 8,1200-432

The Community Cohesion Approach as a Tool for Different Contexts and Scales
2026-04-23 10:30 - 12:00
In this talk, Suhayla Bazbaz Kuri will reflect on her experience as a community organizer and social activist

This workshop aims to provide theoretical and practical knowledge about the community cohesion approach. It will be designed to enable participants to reflect on the Nova School of Business and Economics as a hub for community cohesion, both within the school community and in Carcavelos, where it is located.

What to expect?

A reflective, participatory, and deliberative activity

Acquiring tools that can be used beyond the workshop and the school itself

A space where diversity is recognized and celebrated, and where problems and solutions are developed collaboratively

An activity that emphasizes potential rather than deficits

Where

Nova School of Business and Economics, CarcavelosRoom: B131

Facilitator

Suhayla Bazbaz Kuri is a Mexican political scientist dedicated to human rights, social justice and participatory democracy. She founded Community Cohesion and Social Innovation in 2009 to strengthen community ties and promote inclusive, rights-based, community-led development across Mexico.

She leads regional initiatives such as #LetThemKnowThatWeKnow, addressing power and information asymmetries affecting Indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples, women, youth, people with disabilities and persons in mobility in decisions about their territories and megaprojects. She has facilitated the production of Archipelago, a podcast on diverse ways to defend rights and territories, as well as materials in Indigenous languages and accessible formats. She also launched Why they are here?, focused on corporatization and military integration in the Yucatán Peninsula and expanding to other regions.

She participates in Latin American collectives that advocate for authorities, businesses and financial institutions to meet their human rights obligations, and engages in demonstrations and dialogues on institutional violence against women. She delivered training to more than 8,500 stakeholders from public, private, civil, academic and media sectors.

Check the Eventbrite here and reserve your spot

Research Seminar - Anna Kim
2026-04-27 14:30 - 16:00 | TBD, Rua da Holanda, Campus de Carcavelos - Nova SBE, Lisboa, 2775-405, Portugal
William Dawson Scholar and Associate Professor in Management for Sustainability at the Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University

Abstract: Toward Respectful Theorizing: Methodological Principles and Strategies to Generate Diverse Theories from Fieldwork in the Global South

Organization and management research increasingly aims to build theories based on fieldwork in the Global South. Nevertheless, existing methodological approaches risk producing accounts that do not reflect local realities, as well as causing epistemic injustice and potential harm to the communities studied. Specifically, researchers risk three forms of disrespect: uncritically generalizing Global North theories and experiences across the world (universalization), positioning certain perspectives and phenomena as of higher value than others (cultural superiority), and portraying Global South experiences as unusual and fascinating while divorcing them from broader social and historical contexts (exoticism).

To counter these tendencies, we propose three principles for more respectful theorizing: recognizing plurality across contexts while identifying the specificities embedded within universalized frameworks (particularizing); challenging cultural superiority by valuing local experiences and epistemologies (symmetrizing); and resisting exoticism by foregrounding heterogeneity within a setting and situating it in sociohistorical conditions (contextualizing). Building on these principles, we propose concrete methodological strategies to guide the theory-building process, from experiencing (beyond data collection) and sensemaking (beyond data analysis) to sharing (beyond writing), to mitigate the risk of epistemic injustice and foster diverse and pluralistic theories that are more grounded in local realities.

Spring 26' Prototyping Fund Showcase
2026-04-28 12:30 - 14:30
Join us for the end of our 6th Prototyping Fund cycle with the showcase of 17 incredible students’ projects!

The Prototyping Fund is a collaborative program offered by the DESIS Lab @NovaSBE with the support of Nova SBE Haddad Entrepreneurship Institute .

This program awards teams of students (with at least one member from Nova University) up to €600 or €1500 to be used to build hardware, software prototypes or prototype engagement activities, and connects them with the resources, tools, and mentors they need to bring their ideas to life.

This Spring we have 14 new teams, bringing fresh perspectives and ideas to the table, as well as 3 teams continuing their journey from the previous cycle. And this cycle we had many multischool projects!

Get your spot here
