Professor Nuno Henriques (DEM/ISEL) participated as an invited speaker at the SCIE Conference — Performance-Based Design, organized by SFPE Portugal (Society of Fire Protection Engineers), which took place on 15 October at the VIP Grand Lisboa Hotel & Spa in Lisbon.

The ISEL faculty member took part in the roundtable discussion “Fire Safety Challenges in a Changing World”, where he addressed the role of academia in responding to the sector’s emerging challenges. His contribution focused on the importance of higher education, scientific research, and the training of future professionals in developing more effective solutions tailored to today’s fire safety requirements.

The conference’s central theme was the transition from the traditional prescriptive approach to Fire Safety in Buildings (SCIE) towards a performance-based approach, which enables safety solutions to be adapted to the actual risk profile of each building, promoting greater flexibility and better alignment with the specific characteristics of each project.

The event brought together experts, practitioners, and representatives from various organizations to discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with the evolution of Fire Safety in Buildings (SCIE) in Portugal, with a particular focus on the adoption of performance-based design approaches.