Maria Pacheco Figueiredo has played key leadership roles in educational research: since 2017 she has been on the Board of the National Association for Educational Sciences (SPCE), and was on the Executive Board of the European Educational Research Association (EERA) from 2010 to 2024. Maria also held positions in the Polytechnic, as Pro-President for Pedagogical Innovation, and at the School of Education, as President of the General Assembly and Director of Study Programmes (Childhood Support and Pedagogical Supervision). Her expertise has led to collaborations with the Erasmus+ National Agency and the National Foundation for Science and Technology. She has significant experience in research supervision, in Teacher Education and Early Childhood Education at Master's and Doctoral levels, and has been invited as an external examiner by several programs, nationally and internationally. Maria’s research experience has allowed her to successfully bid for EU and national funding programs. She is currently Pro-President for the European University EUNICE and is on the Board of Directors of the alliance.