After a very successful first edition in 2024, the INESC-ID PhD Student Community dedicated the morning of September 24 to their second Annual Meeting, in a room packed with almost fifty people and many activities prompting discussion of relevant themes and mingling between the students.

Bright and early, students began arriving before nine o’clock for registration, where they received a goodie bag and a number for random seating at the tables. While more and more people arrived, coffee was available for anyone who needed some extra energy for the busy morning ahead.

The first session was an institutional presentation by board member, Helena Galhardas, with an overview of INESC-ID. It was followed by the Head of Communications and Outreach Office (COO), Rodrigo Abreu presenting the office and PhD volunteer, Carolina Carreira, who introduced the Volunteer Team, the growing community of PhD students and the initiatives carried out so far. To close the Introduction, PhD volunteer Daniel Gonçalves presented the Onboarding Guide, which has been developed over the last months and will be available to every newcomer.

“Who here loves 9 am meetings?” “Who has read a book this year?”, these were just two of the many questions asked during the ice breaker, moderated by PhD Volunteer Inês Conceição. Organised as a bingo game, students were divided into eight groups and given cards with various affirmations regarding both their personal and professional life, each to be crossed out if, at least, one person in the group related to it. This encouraged conversation among the students, and the two winning teams were awarded a thematic prize in the end.

After being acquainted with each other, and similar to the previous year, Daniel Gonçalves gathered students to discuss and come up with questions to fit into four categories, Academia, Industry, Entrepreneurship and General/Doctoral Path. After writing and voting on the most burning question of every topic, these were posed to 5 guest speakers, Rui Henriques, Guilherme Paim, Zita Marinho, Luís Fiolhais and Diogo Rato, in a panel moderated by Carolina Carreira. In a light-hearted fashion and with some nostalgic recollections, the speakers candidly shared their own experience as PhD students, what they would’ve done differently, whether nothing at all or all of it, and provided valuable advice for their successors.

By the end of the panel, the attendees made their way outside for a group picture and, finally, lunch, during which many took the chance to further talk with the speakers and to get to know each other better.

This meeting marks a significant milestone in the journey to build a supportive community and promote collaboration among students. Besides allowing current students to connect with each other, the date, strategically set in September, also allowed the meeting to serve as a welcome moment for newcomers. It complements the INESC-ID PhD Students Meetups, informal gatherings designed to support and connect our doctoral researchers. Created by the Communications and Outreach Office, the series offers space for community building, peer exchange, personal and professional growth, and insight into the wider opportunities of the PhD journey.

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