AI Researcher · Technology Consultant · Senior Software Developer · Artist
João da Mata
about me
I grew up in Minas Gerais, Brazil — became a competitive athlete, trained as an IT Technician, and earned a place at UFMG to study Journalism. A professor once told me I would love Germany. I taught myself German in five months, got a scholarship, and spent a year in Bavaria — coming back already decided I was moving to Berlin.
Berlin is where journalism, software, and research stopped feeling like separate things. I now do a PhD at TU Berlin on explainable AI and fact-checking, build the systems my studies depend on, and — somewhat to my own surprise — make art.
PhD in Computer Science
Feb 2025 — Present
I'm a PhD candidate at the Quality & Usability Lab, researching at the intersection of human-AI interaction, fact-checking, and AI governance. My work focuses on Explainable AI (XAI) and Intelligent Decision Support Systems for verification workflows, supervised by Dr. Vera Schmitt (XplaiNLP group) and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sebastian Möller.
Guest Researcher (2025–present) and former Research Assistant (2020–2021). My earlier work focused on AI-based assistive technologies for work rehabilitation; currently I'm contributing to mis/disinformation detection and responsible AI for media verification, evaluating LLM-assisted workflows and explainability methods for fact-checking tools.
Master in Media Science
Oct 2015 — Sep 2021
I did my Master's in Media Science at the Department of Media Studies, a programme built around techno-epistemic media literacy — theory, practice, and archaeology of the media. It deepened my understanding of media systems, platform politics, and the infrastructures that shape how knowledge circulates.
As part of the Master's professionally-oriented training I completed a six-week internship at the Press Division of the German Parliament — writing press releases, supporting journalists during committee meetings and plenary sessions, and attending press conferences of the Federal Government.
Bachelor in Communication & Media Studies
Mar 2010 — Jul 2015
I studied Communication and Media Studies with a specialisation in Journalism at one of Brazil's leading public universities. The curriculum gave me flexible qualifications across journalism, advertising, and public relations. I also trained at Rádio UFMG Educativa 104.5 FM, covering science, politics, and local affairs in Belo Horizonte.
A government-funded UFMG scholarship took me to Bavaria for a year. Having taught myself German in five months, I was selected to spend two semesters studying Political Science at Augsburg — an experience that set the course for everything that followed, including the decision to move to Berlin.
Information Systems Technician
2004 — 2007
My technical formation happened at a public school in Ipatinga, Minas Gerais. The course covered programming, database analysis, computer networks, and hardware — the foundation I keep returning to, decades later, every time a project asks me to build the systems my research depends on.
experience
A decade and a half across journalism, software engineering, academic research, and the arts — often several at once.