April 18, 2026 @ Porto Business School
A one-day, free, in-person event full of learning and professional networking designed for women in technology. Access talks, workshops, career opportunities and networking to boost your career and drive change in the sector.
WHY ATTEND
We have a full in-person day of talks, workshops, career opportunities and networking awaiting you. Meet like-minded tech professionals and unlock your full potential.
Geek Girls Conference will celebrate the 16th anniversary of the community. But most importantly?
We want to celebrate women working in technology. Join us and let us celebrate together!
We are looking for passionate speakers in tech who want to share their expertise with our audience and empower women to succeed in their technology careers.
Our conference is open to all kinds of talks and workshops from the world of IT. We are seeking volunteers who are eager to deliver in-person talks and workshops focused on real-world trends and practical insights into technology, career development, diversity, and inclusion in the field.
The deadline for submissions is 16 February 2026.
At our conference, you’ll learn something new, sharpen your skills, share your stories, and grow your network of trailblazing women in the industry.
We are on a journey to close the gender gap and empower women’s careers in technology. And we need you here!
Listen to passionate speakers eager to update you on industry and career trends in tech.
1Choose what you want to learn in our workshops and deep-dive into topics that matter to you.
2Grab the opportunity to connect with companies committed to driving change in technology, share your CV, and make valuable connections.
3With a multitude of networking opportunities, you will also have the chance to establish mentorship relationships.
4Engage in conversations and share ideas with like-minded women driving change, pioneering new ideas, and thriving in the tech industry.
5There’s a place for everyone at Geek Girls Portugal. Share your stories and form valuable connections.
6Choose what you want to learn in our workshops and deep-dive into topics that matter to you.
2With a multitude of networking opportunities, don't forget to connect and find your next mentor among the conference attendees.
4There’s a place for everyone at Geek Girls Portugal. Share your stories and make valuable connections for your career.
6The conference agenda will be out soon! Stay tuned!
PBS Auditorium | Floor 0
Vânia Gonçalves
PBS Auditorium | Floor 0
Every system has its cracks – but are all of them equal? When someone hears about vulnerabilities, it usually comes with panic attached, yet not every flaw deserves the same attention. Every day, new vulnerabilities are discovered, but it is important to understand what really matters to remediate and where to focus your efforts. The goal of this session is to show how to build a structured Vulnerability Management Program: from identifying risks and prioritizing what matters most, to remediating efficiently and tracking progress.
Marta Fernandes
PBS Auditorium | Floor 0
The session shares a real debugging stories from embedded firmware projects where seemingly correct code can lead to unexpected failures. It is focused on how hardware-software interactions, hidden system states and overlooked assumptions can cause persistent issues. Through practical examples, the talk will demonstrate how to uncover the real root causes. Attendees will gain a structured way of thinking on debugging beyond just using tools and how small oversights can lead to persistent system failures.
Swathi Gowda
PBS Auditorium | Floor 0
AI systems are becoming more accurate, yet many still struggle to create meaningful adoption. The problem is rarely technical, but behavioural. In this talk, I’ll explore why prediction alone is not enough and how designing for intent, motivation, and user agency can make AI systems more relevant, resilient, and trustworthy. Attendees will leave with a practical lens to design for what is preferable, not just what is probable.
Joana Cerejo
PBS Auditorium | Floor 0
Technology is often treated as if risk were neutral, but it isn’t.
Women face disproportionate technology-enabled harms such as harassment, deepfakes, surveillance, and AI-driven abuse.
Current security models frequently fail victims, showing that “secure by default” does not guarantee safety for everyone.
This talk reframes the problem and explores how safer technology for women requires changes in design, policy, and culture.
Anett Stoica
PBS Auditorium | Floor 0
TBA
2.2 Room | Floor 2
When we talk about frontend development and particularly testing web interfaces, the question of "when should we test for accessibility (a11y) in your apps" often arises.
My answer to that is quite simple - we should do it right from the start!
How? By adopting Test Driven Development (TDD) and integrating your favorite testing framework with some a11y power-ups.
This workshop guides us through the creation of a _simple_ ToDo app and the challenges faced during its development.
Recommended to bring you own laptop.
Rita Castro
1.13 Room | Floor 1
Take your career to the next level by mastering OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) as a strategic tool for professional development. This hands-on session will help you define clear objectives that not only accelerate your growth but also create measurable outcomes that deliver value to your organization. Learn how to align your personal goals with business priorities, contribute to higher-level objectives, and position yourself as a driver of impact and success.
Norma Magalhães
2.3 Room | Floor 2
Joana Pereira
2.8 Room | Floor 2
AI can now generate full apps in minutes, but generation isn’t architecture.
This workshop shows how to use AI‑assisted development without losing structure, scalability, or maintainability. We’ll cover: Why AI‑built MVPs break under real complexity; How to add structure before generation; Spec‑driven, contract‑first workflows; Using AI as a multiplier, not a mess; In a world where code is cheap, clear thinking matters.
Recommended to bring laptop.
Rita Silva
Uros Milivojevic
Erik Pegoraro
2.7 Room | Floor 2
In this workshop, participants will explore the shift from Generative AI to Agentic AI systems that can reason, plan, and act. We'll cover key agentic design patterns used in modern AI products, including prompt chaining, human-in-the-loop, and guardrails. Through guided examples and a collaborative design exercise, attendees will learn how to evolve a simple prompt-based feature into a robust agentic system.
Recommended to bring laptop.
Liliana Antão
EDP Auditorium | Floor 1
Even talented teams struggle when roles overlap. In this interactive workshop, participants will analyze a messy real-world delivery scenario and learn how to clearly define responsibilities across Product, Project, Program, and Delivery roles. Walk away with a practical framework to reduce friction, improve collaboration, and help teams deliver with clarity and confidence.
Sofia Pereira
In this hands-on workshop, you'll create your own free, private ChatGPT-like assistant running on your laptop. You'll understand what Large Language Models are, how they work in practice (tokens, context windows, model sizes, and more) and how to choose the best model for your needs. From there, you will go straight into practice: installing Ollama and running your first prompts from scratch, all in a single session.
Margarida Afonso
PBS Auditorium | Floor 0
We often treat "clean code" as a strict rulebook, but it’s actually an act of empathy. In this talk, I share how viewing code as communication can empower the next generation of engineers.
Mariana Lima
PBS Auditorium | Floor 0
What if the biggest career leaps you’ll ever make happen in the exact moments you feel least prepared? This talk dives into the hidden side of growth in tech — the uncomfortable, unexpected, and transformative moments that ultimately shape real leadership. Through my journey as a young woman, I explore how embracing discomfort, stepping into responsibility without formal authority, and building inner confidence became the foundation of my leadership path.
Ana Rita Almeida
PBS Auditorium | Floor 0
Despite equal skills and education, women are often evaluated differently in terms of credibility and authority.
This talk explores how personal branding functions as a system of signals that shape trust, legitimacy, and opportunity.
Drawing from research and real-world experience, it introduces practical imsights women can use to strengthen their professional positioning.
Daniela Monteiro
PBS Auditorium | Floor 0
TBA
PBS Auditorium | Floor 0
Vânia Gonçalves
Project Manager @ Vestas
Driven by a passion for creating safe, energised, and human‑centred teams, Ana Rita builds spaces where people feel confident to speak up and collaborate openly. As a young woman growing her career in tech, Ana Rita learned to step into challenges long before feeling ready, using discomfort as fuel for growth. Wherever she goes, she brings a dynamic, uplifting energy that makes teams stronger and more empowered.
Security Strategy and Awareness Lead @ Blip (a Flutter Company)
After starting in compliance and audit, I found my place in security awareness, where real change happens by working with human behaviour, not against it.
Employer Branding & Talent Experience @ Uphold
Daniela Monteiro is a branding and talent strategy professional working at the intersection of technology, leadership, and community building.
Software Architect and People Lead @ Zühlke Group
Erik Pegoraro is a seasoned Software Architect and People Lead at Zühlke Group, where he drives technical strategy, delivers high‑quality .NET‑based solutions, and mentors engineering teams across international projects. With a career spanning roles at LineTen, Natixis, Bosch Security and Safety Systems, FARFETCH, AWAIBA, Kinematix, and Efacec, he has deep experience in software architecture, development excellence, and performance optimization. Erik holds a Master's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Porto, where his thesis—Neuro‑Fuzzy Software for Intelligent Control and Education—focused on developing advanced fuzzy and neuro‑fuzzy control tools to support intelligent systems research and education. Today, he channels this foundation into a strong focus on AI Engineering, leveraging modern AI‑driven architectures and practices to build future‑ready, resilient software systems.
Senior Experience Designer @ Hexagon
Joana Cerejo is a UX Lead specialising in human-centred AI, with over a decade of experience designing intelligent services across fintech, retail, and industry. She combines behavioural science and foresight to translate AI into experiences that genuinely serve human needs. She is the author of The Anticipatory Design Playbook and was nominated for the 2021 VentureBeat Women in AI Awards.
Data Engineer @ Dachser
Hi! I'm Joana. I've had a slightly unusual path, at different points I thought I'd become a nurse, explored other fields, served in the army, and eventually fell for computer science and became a data engineer.
Co-founder & Innovation Advisor @ Medtiles
Liliana Antão is a researcher and Co-Founder of Medtiles, a startup developing AI-powered solutions to transform medical education, training and research. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Informatics Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto, where her research focuses on applying Artificial Intelligence and Robotics to improve collaboration between humans and machines. Liliana has over seven years of experience working at the intersection of AI, data science, and innovation - from research at the Digital and Intelligent Industry Lab (SYSTEC, FEUP), to consulting on AI strategy and R&D innovation at Deloitte, and developing AI products across industries at DEUS.ai.
Senior Program Manager @ Optimizer / ISEP
Margarida Afonso is Head of the AI Centre of Excellence at Optimizer, leading AI strategy, adoption, and implementation across the organisation. As Senior Program Manager, she has delivered large international transformation programmes with multicultural teams of over 100 people. She is a Guest Lecturer at ISEP and a mentor for women in tech, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Generative Artificial Intelligence.
Software Engineer & Project Manager @ Foundever
2025 WomenTech Global Mentor of the Year & Top 30 Women in Tech PT. Mariana Lima is a Foundever Software Engineer. Once a festival producer, she now creates human-first AI web experiences.'
Cybersecurity Engineer @ MC
Marta has been working in cybersecurity for over five years, three of which were dedicated to implementing and continuously improving a Vulnerability Management program at a major Portuguese retailer. Throughout this journey, she has contributed to evolving vulnerability management practices, helping teams better understand risk and act on it in a way that truly supports the business. She is naturally curious about how things work and, therefore, how they can be improved, always maintaining a practical and strategic mindset. She has a talent for simplifying complexity, turning technical challenges into clear, actionable solutions.
PMO Manager @ Kuehne + Nagel
Norma Magalhães is a PMO Manager with agile expertise, passionate about inspiring team growth and delivering meaningful impact. She brings strong experience in project and program management, agile adoption, continuous improvement, and creating collaborative environments across global organizations.
Sofware Developer @ Volkswagen Group Digital Solution [Portugal]
Former Project Engineer that used to build stand alone applications for data processing and mission planning systems turned Full-Stack Software Developer who loves building user-centric and accessible products - and building them right! Strong advocate of Test Driven Development, XP and Pair Programming as best practices of an Agile developer.
@ Zühlke
Originally from a sports background, Rita pivoted into tech years ago and she is now a Software Engineer at Zühlke, specialized in .NET technologies. She believes that changing paths is not starting over but applying familiar skills in a new game. Curious by nature, she is an enthusiast of leveraging AI tools responsibly to boost the way engineers build products without sacrificing architecture.
Business Analyst @ DEUS
Bioengineering graduate turned tech delivery professional and Project Manager at DEUS, leading cross-functional initiatives from strategy to execution. With experience in sustainability research and Salesforce-based Customer Experience transformations at Deloitte, I focus on helping teams and stakeholders deliver complex initiatives through practical, modern, and empowering ways of working.
Embedded/Software Developer @ Bosch Car Multimedia Braga Portugal
I work as an embedded software engineer with six years of experience in firmware development and system-level debugging. At Bosch Portugal, I focus on Application software, worked on diagnostics and AUTOSAR integration in complex hardware–software environments. I moved from India in 2023 to expand my career globally and take on new challenges. I enjoy continuous learning and adapting to evolving technologies.
AI & Backend Engineer @ Zühlke
Uroš Milivojević is an AI & Backend Engineer at Zühlke.
He specializes in Python-based backend systems and AI-powered applications.
In recent years, he has focused on building production-ready AI solutions - combining generative AI with scalable architecture and clean engineering practices.
GPS Coordinates: 41.182873,-8.654078
