Rail transport

Urban Development Technical Facility, as part of INTPA F.4.

The UDTF focuses on supporting partner countries in their urban development challenges. It delivers technical assistance and policy advice to improve the quality and impact of the EU’s interventions in urban development at all levels—local, regional and global—with a focus on Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Integrated urban planning coupled with greener infrastructure and coordinated urban expansion can increase a city’s urban resilience while minimizing the negative environmental impacts of human settlement.

You can contact the UDTF team by filling out the personal contact form below.

Experienced Program Manger with a demonstrated history of working in the international organizations, government administration and private sector.
Skilled in Project management, Program Coordination, Contract Management, Procurement, supervision, preparation and implementation of infrastructure projects.
Working with EU Delegation to Albania since 2007.

Jean Gomes, Ph.D., is a Senior Researcher and Data Engineer, currently serving as Head of Quantum Computing at DTx Colab in Portugal, within the Data and Application Engineering group. With over 20 years of experience, Jean’s work bridges mathematical optimization, quantum computing, and software engineering to develop industrial solutions for sectors such as energy, logistics, mobility, and digital transformation. His expertise spans MILP/MINLP, quantum annealing (D-Wave), hybrid solvers, and computational frameworks for real-time decision-making.

Jean has led and contributed to international R&D programs, including FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IRSES, PTCRIS, and served as Principal Investigator in the Strategic Partnership in Astrophysics Portugal-Brazil (FCT/CAPES 2017). His work regularly translates advanced academic research into applied innovation, including optimization-based services, digital twins, AI-assisted decision systems, and sustainable urban solutions.

He has authored 60+ peer-reviewed publications, accumulating over 5,700 citations and an h-index of 27 (Google Scholar). His ability to integrate research excellence with real-world impact has earned recognition across both academic and industrial communities.

Jean holds a Ph.D. in Physics with a specialization in Astrophysics, awarded by the University of Santa Catarina (Brazil), including a research period at the Observatoire de Meudon (France). His doctoral research focused on optimization and mathematical modeling of galaxy formation, leading to a Ph.D. equivalence in Astrophysics from the University of Porto (Portugal) in 2015.

Previously, Jean was an Invited Assistant Professor at the University of Porto, where he supervised MSc, PhD, and undergraduate students, many within the PEEC program. He continues to foster collaborations between academia and industry.

Jean has also recently completed formal training in Horizon Europe project evaluation and assessment (2025), reinforcing his capacity to serve as an expert evaluator in European R&D programmes. He is actively registered in several expert pools and panels, contributing with deep domain expertise in energy systems, optimization, routing, and AI.

Experienced consultant having developed a large number of RTD and consultancy studies for the European Commission notably for DG Move, DG Research and EMSA , European Parliament and for other multilateral bodies as UNECE, UNDP, World Bank or EIB.
Those studies focus on a diversity of subjects across all transport modes with particular emphasis on topics related with transport infrastructure financing, transport innovation and European transport policies; inclusion & diversity, urban mobility
Representative of TIS in several networks such as CCAM partnership, C-Roads, etc.
Team leader for the Atlantic core network corridor

Expert and passionate about International Relations, I would like to deepen my knowledge in geopolitics.
I hold a bachelor's degree in International and Diplomatic Affairs and a master's degree in European Studies and Politics.

Since 2021 I work in the European Commission in DG REFORM, the DG responsible for structural reforms in the EU Member States.

Actively studying Ukrainian since a year, I would like to work for UA access to EU and for its support in general.

In my free time I prepare marathons, I play guitar and I follow Fc Inter matches going often to the stadium in Milan :)