I’m Nelson, a Software Engineer at Marmela, specializing in Elixir with Phoenix and Phoenix LiveView.

My academic background includes a degree in Economics and another in Software Engineering, both from the University of Minho, where I also did a one year specialization in Data Science and Distributed Systems.

Since 2021, I have also been teaching there. In the fall semester I teach Informatics Labs I, taken by Computer Science, Software Engineering and Engineering Physics students, and in the spring semester Imperative Programming.

I organize the Braga BEAM User Group, a meetup for Elixir and Erlang developers, and anyone else curious about the BEAM. It is deliberately beginner-friendly — newcomers are as welcome as people who have been shipping Erlang for decades. We gather a few times a year, hosted by companies around the city, and the talks are recorded and published on YouTube.

I’m a former President of the Software Engineering Students Association (CeSIUM), where I was an active member from my freshman year and remain a lifelong associate. I helped organize multiple editions of our Software Engineering Week (SEI), a five-day event with dozens of talks and a 48-hour hackathon over the weekend. I co-hosted one season of CeSIUM’s Podcast called “Periférico” which is available on most platforms.

I co-organized the 2020 edition of ENEI, which took place at Altice Forum Braga with 600 attendees and more than 30 companies. This national conference brings together computer science and engineering students to learn, socialize and connect with each other and the business world.

As a CeSIUM member, I co-led the CoderDojo at Braga from 2018, an open, non-profit movement that teaches programming to children and teenagers from 7 to 17.

Back in 2017, I joined #include <braga>, a volunteering movement that directly impacted the local community through tech. While I was there, I helped organize two editions of Secret Santa, which involved more than 160 children, young and old in disadvantaged social conditions.

I enjoy many hobbies, and I am particularly good at twisty puzzles. At the Portugal Open 2014, I was the second-fastest Portuguese at solving the Rubik’s Cube, in both the traditional two-handed event and the one-handed event.

If you want to chat, say hi at @nelsonmestevao or email me at nelson@estevao.org.