Ricardo Jorge e Silva Bento

Ricardo Jorge e Silva Bento was born in 1976 in Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal, and currently resides in Vila Real. He holds a PhD in Engineering Sciences (2001) and a Degree in Civil Engineering (2000) from the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD). He also completed the coursework component of a Master's degree in Urban Engineering at the University of Coimbra (2004). 

Since 2000, he has been a faculty member of the Department of Engineering at UTAD, where he currently serves as Assistant Professor, teaching and conducting research primarily in the fields of Spatial Planning and Territorial Management. He is a full member of the Centre for Transdisciplinary Development Studies (CETRAD). 

From 2021 to 2026, he served as Vice-Rector for Planning, Territory and Heritage at UTAD. He has also held several leadership and advisory positions, including Vice-President of the Consultative Council of the Douro Museum Foundation and Vice-President of the Executive Board of the Landscape Laboratory Association of Guimarães. Between 2023 and 2026, he was a member of the Consultative Council of the Côa Parque Foundation. 

A Senior Member and Specialist of the Portuguese Order of Engineers, Ricardo Bento coordinated the Specialisation Committee on Spatial Planning and Territorial Management between 2025 and 2026. From 2015 to 2020, he acted as an expert evaluator for the Portuguese National Innovation Agency (ANI) under the Portugal 2020 framework. 

He coordinated UTAD’s Territorial Studies Group from 2010 to 2025 and has led the technical and scientific coordination of numerous Municipal Master Plan (PDM) revisions and Strategic Environmental Assessments, establishing himself as a recognised expert in territorial planning, regional development, and public policy.