António Cardoso has a degree in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science. He is currently in his final year of a Master's degree in Artificial Intelligence. Here, he shares his experience at M:IA.
"The decision to enroll in the Master’s in Artificial Intelligence had already been made in my final year of the Bachelor’s degree in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, where I became fascinated by the concepts and applications of AI across a wide range of fields. At a time when this technology is clearly emerging as the future, it would have been impossible for me to move away from AI, so I chose to continue developing and deepening my academic skills in this area.
The M:IA provided me with an excellent education, comprehensively covering fundamental areas of AI such as computer vision, natural language processing, and the ethical and fair use of AI. The programme stood out for exploring in detail the essential foundations of the various concepts, while at the same time introducing students to the most relevant state-of-the-art methods, revisiting ideas from the Perceptron to Transformers, thus enabling a deep and up-to-date understanding of the techniques and challenges in the field.
During my time at the DCC, I encountered a faculty that consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to clearly and rigorously conveying the concepts being taught. The professors were always available to clarify doubts, discuss more advanced topics, and encourage critical thinking, thereby creating a very positive and dynamic learning environment for students. This context promoted not only effective learning but also a strong incentive for good research practice in AI, proving exemplary for my academic growth.
Throughout this journey, I also had the opportunity to undertake two research grants at INESC TEC, which significantly shaped my training. In the first year of the master’s programme, I worked on medical image generation for lung CT scans using Generative Adversarial Networks and Diffusion Models, an experience that allowed me to explore the field of Generative AI for images and led to the publication of my first scientific paper in the medical area. In the second year, as part of my dissertation, I worked on the use of video and polysomnography signals for the automatic detection of RBD, a sleep disorder, which required adapting concepts such as Multiple Instance Learning to the presence of multimodal data.
I recognise the M.IA as an essential part of my academic training, as it allowed me to consolidate and expand my knowledge in AI. I intend to continue studying and developing applications in the medical domain, contributing to innovative solutions that represent the responsible and beneficial use of AI in the world."
(January 2026)