The Next Big Idea published a piece about Forma, the learning platform Diogo Barros and I are building. It was written by Gabriel Lagoa.
Read the full article on The Next Big Idea. It's in Portuguese.
We talked about how Forma started, what we want to teach and why we think education in Portugal needs to be more practical. Here are three things I said, translated from the Portuguese original.
A class of 10-year-olds
Last year I taught video game development to 10-year-olds at an international school in Lisbon. That's when the idea became clear.
"What they learned in one school year was exactly the same as what I learned in one year of my master's. The understanding is different, but in practical terms it comes to the same thing. That's when it hit me: education lacks practicality."
Tiago Rodrigues to The Next Big Idea, translated from Portuguese
Courses that keep up with the tools
A new tool can't wait two years to make it into a curriculum. At Forma, we want it in within weeks.
"A new artificial intelligence model came out this week. Within the next two or three weeks, we'll already have a course on that technology."
Tiago Rodrigues to The Next Big Idea, translated from Portuguese
Portugal first
"Our focus is teaching Portuguese people, because it's where we live and where we know the need exists."
Tiago Rodrigues to The Next Big Idea, translated from Portuguese
The article also covers the business model, with subscriptions for individuals and partnerships with schools and companies, and Forma's place in Web Summit's ALPHA programme, which we announced here.
Thanks to Gabriel for the questions and to The Next Big Idea for the space.
The Forma demo is live at learnforma.com. Launch is set for 1 November.
Original article: "“À educação falta praticidade”. Tiago e Diogo criaram uma plataforma para ensinar programação, IA e negócios", by Gabriel Lagoa, The Next Big Idea, 23 September 2026. Quotes translated from Portuguese by us.
