AI: THE AGE OF AGENTS

24 September – 2026 | Culturgest – Lisbon

ABOUT THIS EDITION

Artificial Intelligence is entering a new phase. Following the widespread adoption of generative AI tools capable of answering questions and creating content, AI agents are now taking center stage: systems designed to perform tasks, make decisions, collaborate with one another and autonomously support organizations.

This transformation will be at the heart of Q-Day 2026. Watch the video of the event.

Watch the video

AGENTIC AI TAKES CENTER STAGE AT Q-DAY 2026

Agentic AI is more than the next step in technological evolution. It represents a fundamental shift in how work gets done and how organizations create value.

As AI agents become embedded in business processes, use tools, interact with other systems and carry out increasingly complex tasks, critical issues such as governance, accountability, trust, quality and technological sovereignty move to the forefront.

AGENDA

08h:30 | Participant reception

09h:00 | Opening session

10:00 | Panel 1 – Digital Sovereignty as a Competitive Advantage

11:30 | Coffee break

12:00 | Co-Innovation Awards

13:00 | Networking lunch

14:30 | Panel 2 – Riding the Wave: The Art of Surviving AI… with AI

15:30 | Special Session: Portugal’s Technology and Entrepreneurial Diaspora

16:30 | Coffee break

16:45 | Panel 3 – Building the Skills to Orchestrate AI

17:45 | Closing session

EXPLORE THE PANELS AT Q-DAY 2026

➜ PANEL 1 (10:00-11:30)

DIGITAL SOVEREIGNTY AS A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

In October 1929, the market collapsed because investors treated innovation as if it were immune to economic gravity. Almost a century later, familiar patterns are emerging: AI start-ups raise millions, yet many fail to survive beyond their second year. Call it natural selection or simply the market doing its job – when the AI bubble bursts, as history suggests it eventually will, the divide will be unforgiving. On one side will be companies built on inflated narratives and speculative capital. On the other, organizations that have used agentic AI to do what they already do – but better: make faster decisions, reduce errors and scale with purpose.

This panel will explore how organizations can distinguish, today, between AI that creates tangible value and AI that merely imitates innovation or fuels unrealistic expectations.

SPEAKERS: César Rosa | Luís Ribeiro | Pedro Dionísio | Ricardo Pinheiro | António Guedes de Amorim
MODERATOR: Francisca Andrade

➜ PANEL 2 (14:30-15:30)

RIDING THE WAVE: THE ART OF SURVIVING AI… WITH AI

Digital dependency has become a strategic risk for both businesses and nations. Technology lock-in, prohibitive migration costs, exposure to decisions made by US and Asian technology giants, and regulation that evolves faster than organizations can adapt are all reducing their room for manoeuvre. Those who stand still are swept away by the current. Those who resist the wave head-on are overwhelmed by it. The organizations that endure are those that learn to read the AI wave and adjust their course in real time.

In this panel, we will present companies that have turned technological independence into a lasting competitive advantage: resilient organizations that remain financially independent and retain control over their own infrastructure; not because they stopped the wave, but because they learned how to ride it.

SPEAKERS: João Guerreiro | João Santos | Paulo Soeiro Ferreira | Jorge Marques Silva | Hugo Curinha
MODERATOR: Miguel Rodrigues

➜ SPECIAL SESSION (15:h30-16:30)

PORTUGAL’S TECHNOLOGY AND ENTREPRENEURIAL DIASPORA

The Portuguese diaspora represents more than a history of human mobility. It is an ecosystem of expertise, networks and ambition that technology is finally enabling us to connect in a coherent and meaningful way. Through real-world cases and lessons learned, we will examine the role of digital tools in building bridges between countries, organizations and markets.

This session will celebrate entrepreneurs, companies and institutions using technology as a catalyst for international growth – and proving that it is possible to operate globally while remaining distinctly Portuguese.

SPEAKERS: Carolina Rendeiro | Catarina Liberato | Ricardo Miguéis | Carlos Marques
MODERATOR: Leonor Pipa

➜ PANEL 3 (16:45-17h:45)

BUILDING THE SKILLS TO ORCHESTRATE AI

For decades, mastering technology meant mastering code. Today, that barrier has fallen: professionals can create and adapt digital solutions without knowing how to program. But removing the technical barrier has not eliminated the need for expertise. It has transformed it.

The human role is shifting from writing code to curating, orchestrating and making decisions: knowing which questions to ask, validating what AI produces and integrating its outputs into solutions that deliver meaningful value for people and organizations.

This panel will explore the new capabilities professionals need to become effective orchestrators of AI agents.

ORADORES: Manuela Veloso | Afonso Seixas Nunes | Inês Bastos Costa | Martim Farinha
MODERADOR: Pedro Candeias

INNOVATION · TECHNOLOGY · INTERNATIONALISATION · NETWORKING

Connect with public-sector decision-makers, business leaders, academics, and national and international experts to explore the trends and technological challenges shaping organizations, the economy and society.
Join Quidgest’s annual conference dedicated to digital transformation, Artificial Intelligence and the future of technology.

Watch the video

SPEAKERS

AFONSO SEIXAS NUNES

Associate Professor of Law at Boston College

ANTÓNIO GUEDES DE AMORIM

Partner at Quidgest

BRUNA FERREIRA

Head of Marketing & Communication at Quidgest

CARLOS CALÇADA MARQUES

Manager at Quidgest Software Plant

CARLOS COSTA

Senior Associate Professor at ISEG – Lisbon School of Economics & Management

CAROLINA RENDEIRO

CEO & Founder of Connect2Global and Honorary Consul of Portugal – Miami

CATARINA LIBERATO

President of the Portuguese Association of Researchers and Students in the UK (PARSUK)

CÉSAR ROSA

Head of the Multidisciplinary Team for Information Systems, Digital Transformation, and Artificial Intelligence at PLANAPP

FRANCISCA ANDRADE

Journalist at Tek Notícias a definir

HUGO CURINHA

AI Engineer at Quidgest

INÊS BASTOS COSTA

Head of People & Careers at Quidgest

JOÃO GUERREIRO

Vice-Dean International Affairs & Strategic Communications at ISCTE Business School

JOÃO PAULO CARVALHO

Co-founder and Senior Partner at Quidgest

JOÃO SANTOS

Founder & CEO of Earthindicators

JORGE MARQUES SILVA

Data Scientist at Quidgest

LEONOR PIPA

Director of Link to Leaders

LUÍS RIBEIRO

CTO at KLx (Crédit Agricole Group)

LUÍS RODRIGUES

Partner and Founder at LRJG

MANUELA VELOSO

Founder & Head JPMorganChase AI Research

MARTIM FARINHA

Knowledge Lawyer at VdA – Vieira de Almeida

MIGUEL RODRIGUES

Journalist at Tech Bit

PAULO SOEIRO FERREIRA

Head of Engineering and Innovation at Visabeira Global SGPS SA

PEDRO CANDEIAS

Deputy Director of Público

PEDRO DIONÍSIO

Director of FutureCast Lab

RICARDO MIGUÉIS

Head of Office at INESC Brussels HUB

RICARDO PINHEIRO

President at CCDR Alentejo

Organizations that support this edition

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ABOUT

Quidgest is a global technology company headquartered in Lisbon and a pioneer in intelligent software modeling and generation. Through its unique generative AI platform, Genio, develops complex, urgent, and specific systems, ready to evolve continuously, flexible, and scalable for various technologies and platforms. Partners and large organizations such as governments, multinational companies, and global multilateral institutions use Quidgest’s solutions to achieve their digital strategies.

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