On April 15, CERIS Executive Board held a dedicated session with PhD researchers (not faculty members), aiming to strengthen dialogue and promote collaborative solutions that support the continuous improvement of CERIS. This initiative focused specifically on engaging these researchers in open discussion and idea sharing.
The session was hosted by Professor Rui Carrilho Gomes, CERIS Vice-President, with the full support of the Executive Board. CERIS President, Professor João Gomes Ferreira, welcomed participants and officially opened the session.
Following a brief overview of the responses to a pre-session questionnaire, researchers were divided into small groups (3–4 participants) to brainstorm around three key topics: welcome and integration conditions, interaction with the Executive Board, and researcher evaluation. Each group then presented their insights to the wider audience, sparking a lively and constructive open discussion.
To close the session, Professor João Ferreira summarised the main takeaways, highlighting key points raised and the potential for follow-up actions.
Overall, the session proved to be a valuable step toward improving internal communication and engagement at CERIS. The Executive Board expects to organise more initiatives of this kind in the future.
