José Maria Pimentel holds a BSc degree in Economics from the University of Coimbra, a MSc degree in International Economics and Finance from Tilburg University, in the Netherlands, and an MBA from Católica Lisbon and Nova SBE («Lisbon MBA»). He is currently a PhD candidate in Political Science at CIES-Iscte Center for Research and Studies in Sociology, with a project on Decentralization and Quality of Government. He is also a guest professor at the Institute of Public Policies (IPPS) at ISCTE, in Banking Regulation and Supervision, as well as in the  executive training of Católica-Lisbon, where he teaches Critical Thinking. He is also the author of the podcast 45 Graus and the book «Politics at 45 Graus» (Bertrand Editora), where he addresses the ideas of different political ideologies and the current challenges of populism and polarization. He is a “Digital Ambassador” for the European Commission.