AI AND HEALTH: IIA-LNCC hosts delegation from the University of Coimbra to discuss cooperation

The AI Institute of LNCC welcomed, this Thursday (24), a delegation from the University of Coimbra, represented by the Department of Engineering and Informatics, to discuss strategic partnerships in the development of large language models (LLMs) for the Portuguese-speaking community and collaborations in data science applied to health.

The Portuguese delegation was led by Prof. Jorge Henriques, head of the department, and included Professors Paulo Gil and Lorena Perrella. Representing the IIA, Prof. Fabio Porto, coordinator of the Institute, took part in the meeting and mediated discussions on joint projects.

“This meeting marks an important step in the cooperation between Brazil and Portugal in the development of AI for the Lusophone world. Bringing together the expertise of LNCC and the University of Coimbra will allow us to advance innovative solutions, especially in language models that value Portuguese and its variants,” said Fabio.

The discussions focused on the creation of AI tools in Portuguese, with the aim of strengthening technological and scientific output in Portuguese-speaking countries. In addition, collaborations in the health sector were addressed, with the participation of Prof. Marcel Pedroso, from FIOCRUZ, who presented partnership opportunities within the PCDaS Platform (Data Science Platform for Health).

“The integration of AI and data science in public health is transformative. PCDaS provides a robust environment for large-scale analyses, and partnerships like this enhance our impact, especially in epidemiological studies and health policies for Portuguese-speaking populations,” Marcel commented.

The initiative reinforces the strategic role of international cooperation in democratizing access to high-quality AI in Portuguese and transforming data into solutions for global health.