Sónia Dias has been re-elected Director of the National School of Public Health of NOVA University Lisbon (NOVA NSPH) for a new four-year term, following the electoral process held on 13 May 2026.
The election took place within the framework of the electoral process for the position of Director of NOVA NSPH, with Sónia Dias being unanimously elected by the members of the School Council.
The submitted candidacy will allow for the continuation of the work carried out in recent years, with the strengthening of strategic areas such as internationalisation and partnerships, innovation in public health, knowledge transfer, and sustainability, in alignment with the priorities of NOVA University Lisbon.
In presenting her candidacy, Sónia Dias highlighted the importance of consolidating the growth achieved by NOVA NSPH in its different mission areas, such as teaching, research, and cooperation with society, while simultaneously reinforcing the institution’s capacity to respond to new public health challenges.
“The recent progress of NOVA NSPH is the result of a collective effort and strong internal mobilisation. It is with this confidence, and with the conviction in the potential of our community, that I approach this new term, to consolidate the School’s growth and strengthen its role as a reference institution in public health, in Portugal and internationally,” states Sónia Dias.
In teaching, the new cycle aims to consolidate and update the educational offer, deepen the commitment to a student-centred experience, and strengthen pedagogical innovation, including the launch of a public health simulation centre. The ambition to expand the School’s educational offer to new study cycles, including the new Bachelor’s degree in Global Public Health, also emerges as one of the development priorities for the coming years.
In research, the focus will be on sustaining the very significant growth achieved in recent years, strengthening internationally competitive excellence research, the capacity to attract and retain researchers, and the robustness of support structures. The articulation between research and teaching, as well as the reinforcement of the institution’s scientific culture, also appear as priorities for the next term.
Regarding cooperation with society, the programme foresees a renewed impetus for the School’s third mission, particularly through the launch of the Public Health Innovation Centre, conceived as a platform for scientific and technological advancement and support for the transformation of public health in Portugal.
In the concluding remarks of her candidacy presentation, Sónia Dias emphasised that the recent progress of NOVA NSPH is the result of a collective effort and strong internal mobilisation. She therefore expressed confidence in the potential of the School’s academic and professional community to continue affirming NOVA NSPH as a reference institution in public health, in Portugal and internationally.
