Carolina Cruz de Castro is a PhD student at CENSE, focusing on the empowerment of rural Renewable Energy Communities through participatory approaches that foster inclusion and a just energy transition. She is involved in the LIFE ENTRACK project: “Empowering local and regional authorities to design clean ENergy TRAnsition plans through Capacity and Knowledge building actions". Carolina holds an MSc. degree in Environmental Engineering (2023) from NOVA FCT, and has received the NOVA Young Talent Award (2020) and the Calouste Gulbenkian Environmental Sustainability Grant (Novos Talentos Científicos 2022). Her master’s research, developed through exchanges in Montevideo and Padua, explored students’ perceptions and vulnerabilities to energy poverty across different contexts (Castro & Gouveia, 2023; 2025).
