Joao Alves de Sousa main research areas are game design and animation in the context of scientific, technological and artistic-cultural production. PhD in Science and Technology of the Arts, Specialization in Interactive Art from Universidade Católica Portuguesa, he has been working in recent years on the link between education and entertainment (edutainment). As a researcher at HEI Lab, he has worked together with teams of psychologists in the creation of several multimedia applications that reflect this connection, such as VR Nmesis (2021 - under development) and VR Decision Making Training (2020, used by Ordem dos Psicólogos Portugueses - OPP), both as simulators for training psychology students. He also coordinated the development of Emotion Recognition Assessment, a mobile app used to assess the ability to recognize human emotions ( 2020 - in tests at the Alzheimer's Day Center and other dementias at Centro Hospitalar Conde de Ferreira). As director of the degree in Video Games and Multimedia Applications at Universidade Lusófona do Porto, he won the "Fazer + 2021" award for Best Innovative Pedagogical Practice, regarding the coordination of multidisciplinary projects using project based-learning methodologies. Master in Digital Animation, he was awarded for directing several animated films. Still in this field, he coordinated the creation of the Motion Comic "YES!" in a didactic project to combat childhood obesity in collaboration with Hospital Pedro Hispano, Matosinhos. He also animated and coordinated the creation of several animated artworks displayed in Augmented Reality in partnership with the artist Ana Aragão in the exhibition No Plan for Japan (Nov 2011-Feb 2022 - Museu do Oriente, Lisbon) and later on Hillside Gallery Tokyo.
