CHAIRS

Chair

António J. Figueiredo

Current Vice-Rector of the University of Coimbra, has carried out his whole academic career at the University of Coimbra, and he was Director of the Faculty of Sports Sciences and Physical Education (FCDEF), a position he has held since September 2011. He was the President of the Scientific Council and the Pedagogical Council of FCDEF, and member of the University Senate, the Quality Committee and the Sports Observatory.

Throughout his academic career, he has always taught at different levels of teaching, being responsible for several courses. He supervised numerous master’s dissertations, as well as close to a dozen doctoral theses, some of them at foreign universities. As a researcher, he has focused his goals in the training of young athletes, being the author and / or co-author of hundreds of scientific works, either presented in congresses or written in scientific articles, with more than 70 publications in indexed journals and with the impact factor Thomson ISI JCR. He also participates in the research team of 2 Erasmus + projects, as well as a project in the scope of the Centro2020 programme, to rethink the link between engineering and sport. He currently dedicates special attention to the dual career in the student-athlete dyad, having recently been elected to a second term as a member of the Executive Committee of the European Athlete-Student – Dual Career Network.

Co-Chairs

Hugo Sarmento

Hugo Sarmento, PhD, is assistant professor at the University of Coimbra, Portugal. He is the head of the master’s program in Youth Sport Training.  Sarmento’s research on sport expertise and talent development following an ecological dynamics approach. He has also conducted studies in performance analysis, training load monitoring, match analysis, small-sided and conditioned games and physical activity and health. 

He has published more than 80 international peer-reviewed original articles about expertise and team performance. 

Additionally, is a member of 6 editorial boards of international scientific journals.

Manuel João Coelho e Silva

Full Professor, University of Coimbra. Bsc Physical Education and Sport (University of Lisbon, 1986-1991); Msc in Youth Sport Science (University of Porto, 193-1996); Granted by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) to obtain the PhD supervised by Robert M Malina (Michigan State University, 1999-2000). Aggregation in Sport Sciences (University of Coimbra, 2011). Head of the International Office (2002-2008). Coordinator of the Master in Youth Sports (2005-2017) and PhD in Sport Training (2009-2020). Supervised 21 PhD (13 granted by FCT, 2 by Mexican and Brazil Governments) and 112 master students. Co-leader of the Coimbra Longitudinal Soccer Study (2004-2009). Co-author of 144 JCR manuscripts (pubmed search: Coelho-e-Silva AND soccer = 44). Coordinator of the research unit CIDAF (uid/dtp/04213/2020). Currently member of Pediatric Work Physiology Meeting (Chair in 2013 edition, editor Children and Exercise XXVIII). Consultant of FCT (assessed 120 PhD grant proposal) and Portuguese Agency for Higher Education. Member of the Scientific Committee of the Portuguese Olympic Committee; served the State Secretary of Sport in Portuguese Council of Sports.