"Evidence should calm decisions, not dramatise them"
About
Through my work in behavioural science and education, I study how technology shapes attention, motivation and relationships in childhood and adolescence. I translate peer‑reviewed research and field observation into routines that survive a school day and a family evening. I teach Marketing and Management, lead A&J Education, and draw on developmental and cognitive psychology to help people act with clarity—not hype.
Current roles:
Professor • CEO, A&J Education • PhD (University of St Andrews) •
Based in Porto, Portugal and London, UK
my story
I was born in Porto, Portugal, and I’ve been working since I was eighteen. Not for prestige, but to pay for my education and feed a persistent hunger to understand the world on my own terms.
At nineteen, I packed my savings and left. Each summer, I was moving through Europe alone, with long stretches in Russia and Ukraine, eventually picking up the language. It was the kind of education no classroom could give.
Back home, I still wanted to be an airline pilot. But pilot school was financially out of reach, so I did what many do in a crisis: I compromised. Portugal was deep in recession, and I chose Computer Science because it was safe. I did well academically but felt miserable... so I changed to Accounting. That didn’t help either. Two years in, I still felt lost. Then I stumbled into Marketing, and something clicked. It was the first time I felt intellectually at home.
I completed my BSc in 2016, a full six years after starting university. A scholarship took me to the University of Leeds for a Master’s in Marketing Analytics. I studied during the day, worked from 5PM to 1AM, and finished with a Merit and a High Distinction in my dissertation. That piece of research changed something - it convinced me I had more to say than to sell. I turned down industry offers and applied for a PhD. I had offers from Oxford and St Andrews. St Andrews came with a scholarship and accommodation, so the decision made itself.
My research focused on how people perceive the risks of sharing personal data in smart cities. Academia welcomed me in. I lectured, tutored, and eventually became a postdoctoral researcher at Erasmus University in Rotterdam. That brought me to New York, where I spent a some time between NYU and Cornell Tech.
Afterwards, I joined Leiden Law School as an Assistant Professor. Then I did something unexpected: I left. I became CEO of A&J Group - a growing education company I had been involved since my early tutoring days. Under my leadership, it expanded from one company to four, and into a multi‑million‑pound organisation. We have since been recognised by His Majesty the King for our work.
Today, I speak publicly, advise on youth and education policy, and continue to teach at universities as a guest. I’m fluent in Portuguese, English and Spanish, and I still understand most of my Russian and Lithuanian though they’ve both grown a little rusty with time.
My story isn’t about prestige. It’s about persistence, clarity, and returning, again and again, to what’s useful and human. I build slow ideas for fast worlds. Evidence‑based, emotionally grounded, and designed for real life.
At nineteen, I packed my savings and left. Each summer, I was moving through Europe alone, with long stretches in Russia and Ukraine, eventually picking up the language. It was the kind of education no classroom could give.
Back home, I still wanted to be an airline pilot. But pilot school was financially out of reach, so I did what many do in a crisis: I compromised. Portugal was deep in recession, and I chose Computer Science because it was safe. I did well academically but felt miserable... so I changed to Accounting. That didn’t help either. Two years in, I still felt lost. Then I stumbled into Marketing, and something clicked. It was the first time I felt intellectually at home.
I completed my BSc in 2016, a full six years after starting university. A scholarship took me to the University of Leeds for a Master’s in Marketing Analytics. I studied during the day, worked from 5PM to 1AM, and finished with a Merit and a High Distinction in my dissertation. That piece of research changed something - it convinced me I had more to say than to sell. I turned down industry offers and applied for a PhD. I had offers from Oxford and St Andrews. St Andrews came with a scholarship and accommodation, so the decision made itself.
My research focused on how people perceive the risks of sharing personal data in smart cities. Academia welcomed me in. I lectured, tutored, and eventually became a postdoctoral researcher at Erasmus University in Rotterdam. That brought me to New York, where I spent a some time between NYU and Cornell Tech.
Afterwards, I joined Leiden Law School as an Assistant Professor. Then I did something unexpected: I left. I became CEO of A&J Group - a growing education company I had been involved since my early tutoring days. Under my leadership, it expanded from one company to four, and into a multi‑million‑pound organisation. We have since been recognised by His Majesty the King for our work.
Today, I speak publicly, advise on youth and education policy, and continue to teach at universities as a guest. I’m fluent in Portuguese, English and Spanish, and I still understand most of my Russian and Lithuanian though they’ve both grown a little rusty with time.
My story isn’t about prestige. It’s about persistence, clarity, and returning, again and again, to what’s useful and human. I build slow ideas for fast worlds. Evidence‑based, emotionally grounded, and designed for real life.