A new year means new ideas, new resolutions, and maybe even new paths in the horizon? For the first INESC-ID PhD Student Meetup of 2026, we welcomed Diogo Rato, co-founder of Testwaves, and Miguel Freire, co-founder and CEO of Neuralshift to share their firsthand experiences in the field of entrepreneurship, moderated by INESC-ID’s Knowledge Transfer Manager Sandra Aresta.

The conversation began with the origins of Neuralshift and Testwaves, as well as the co-founders’ motivations for extending their academic research into the world of entrepreneurship. In addition to discussing what made their opportunities unique, they also shared some of their challenges in creating a startup, including the need to adapt to a new context and even imposter syndrome. They highlighted that the key is to simply ask for help and tackle problems as soon as possible, and that despite the struggles, there is no greater joy than creating something that works and building a team that communicates effectively and works towards a common goal.

“A relaxed and informative moment about the experience of creating spin-offs. I hope it has inspired INESC-ID PhD students to follow this path”, stated Sandra Aresta, an expectation that seems to have been met, as shared by one of the attending students: “I found the meetup both refreshing and enlightening. Events like this remind us that entrepreneurship is not a departure from academic work, but rather an extension of it and another meaningful way to bring research to impact.”

The session was followed by a light coffee break, providing a casual moment for the students to gather and discuss among themselves and to chat with the guest speakers.

 

⁠*The INESC-ID PhD Students Meetups are 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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