The BIG ERA Chair Closing Conference, held on October 27, 2025, at Instituto Superior Técnico, gathered together students, researchers, and experts to discuss digital ledger technologies for social good, with more than 50 attendants.
Featuring headline keynote addresses, dynamic research discussions, and a rich industry panel, the event highlighted how academic breakthroughs can translate to broader societal advances.
The conference featured two keynotes, the first one delivered by Diogo Mónica, co-founder and Executive Chairman of Anchorage Digital on “Tokenization: Democratizing access to the world’s largest financial system” and a second one by Manuel Costa, Vice President and Distinguished Engineer at Microsoft, on “Transparency and accountability for confidential computing”.
Luís Caires moderated the BIG Lab research highlights session, where many BIG project researchers presented flash talks on interdisciplinary themes including scalability, application infrastructures, smart contracts, DApps, blockchain interoperability and wallet security, DLT sustainability and design, and blockchain for participation and inclusion.
Rounding off the program, an industry and society panel chaired by Luís Caires gathered expertise from SONAE, Anchorage Digital, Blockdaemon, and Unlockit and Microsoft.
Rogério Colaço, president of Técnico, while closing the conference, congratulated the project team for the results achieved and highlighted the relevance of challenging projects such as the ERA Chair for Técnico mission.
The conference was co-located with the visit of the BIG’s International Experts Panel, which was assessing the project performance as part of one of the work packages. The assessment report provided by the panel concluded that “[…] the panel was highly impressed with the project team’s progress over the years. […] The research and external engagement reported in the last two years are especially impressive“. The panel also offered recommendations regarding the long-term focus and sustainability of the research developed in the scope of the project, namely by addressing two challenges: the first related with the project’s institutional framework namely “[…] by providing a space for interdisciplinary academics to generate ideas for future grants […] and broker collaborations with external organizations” and the second challenge related with its collaboration with industry and other organizations by “Position BIG Lab to offer consultancy and collaboration for problems blockchain / DLTs can address, rather than solely emphasizing the technology itself“.
As we approach the end of our €2.5M Horizon ERA Chair initiative, I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved in building research capacity at Técnico Lisboa through blockchain technology and design innovation for social good.
When we set out to establish BIGLab, we envisioned more than just a research laboratory – we aimed to create a knowledge hub that would bridge Computer Science, Architecture, and Design Innovation. Today, that vision is reality. Under the leadership of our ERA Chair Holder, Professor Luís Caires, we’ve successfully attracted world-class faculty across disciplines, creating a truly interdisciplinary powerhouse. Our team brings together expertise in cybersecurity, distributed systems, security and privacy, human-computer interaction, mixed reality, inclusive computing, and digital media – all united by a commitment to leveraging blockchain for societal benefit.
This project proves that strategic investment in excellent people creates ripple effects that transform our research ecosystems. The interdisciplinary collaborations we’ve fostered are already shaping the future of socially responsible technology.
The BIG Closing Conference really was a unique moment to witness the impact of BIG as an extremely successful multi-institutional and interdisciplinary initiative, leveraging the quite unique characteristics of the ERA program. A new phase now starts for the BIG Lab community, looking forward to the future challenges of decentralized, participatory, and trustworthy computing for all.
I just wanted to reaffirm that it was a very interesting event, as it provided a unique opportunity to bring together researchers from diverse fields with business leaders from around the world, all connected by a common interest in an area that, as we saw in various presentations, is very dynamic.
It was a pleasure to attend the BIG Closing Conference at IST. This event brought together a compelling range of topics, and I enjoyed engaging in discussions with fellow participants that broadened my perspective. It was also great to witness the collaboration and exchange of ideas between researchers and industrial partners. Events like this play a crucial role in translating cutting-edge research into real-world impact, and I am glad to have been part of it.
