João Tobias Cunha is a legal scholar and higher education lecturer whose academic profile is strongly aligned with the core research areas of Governance, Public Policy and Sustainability. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the Jean Piaget Polytechnic Institute of Benguela (Angola), a Master’s degree in Business Law with a specialisation in Labour Law from ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon, and a postgraduate qualification in Public Companies and Market Law from the Portuguese Catholic University. He is currently a PhD candidate in Public Policies at the University of Aveiro, specialising in Local Governance and Public Policies. His doctoral research examines the environmental impact of offshore oil exploitation in the Lower Congo Basin, focusing on regulatory frameworks, public policy design, environmental accountability and sustainable governance in resource-dependent contexts.

Since 2017, he has been actively engaged in higher education teaching, with extensive experience across multiple Angolan higher education institutions. He has taught foundational and advanced courses in Labour Law, Law of Obligations, Tax Law, Labour Litigation, and the History of Political and Legal Institutions. He previously served as Coordinator of the Bachelor’s Degree in Law at the Sol Nascente Polytechnic Institute, where he led curriculum development, academic governance processes, quality assurance mechanisms, and the integration of practice-based and research-led teaching approaches.

His research agenda is interdisciplinary, situated at the intersection of legal studies, public policy analysis, governance systems and sustainability, with particular emphasis on labour protection, environmental regulation, corporate and state responsibility, and policy responses to socio-environmental challenges. He has published peer-reviewed scientific articles in national and international journals and is the author of the book Solved Practical Cases in Labour Law (2021). He regularly participates in academic conferences as a speaker and moderator and has extensive experience supervising undergraduate and master’s dissertations, contributing to capacity-building in legal and policy research.

In parallel with his academic career, he practices law, particularly in labour, corporate and civil matters, which strengthens the applied dimension of his research and teaching and supports evidence-based policy analysis. He is a member of the Angolan Association of Labour Law Jurists (JUTRA Angola) and the Ciência LP Community, and acts as a peer reviewer for the Sol Nascente Journal. In 2025, he was recognised as one of the Top 100 Scientists in Angola by the Alper-Doger Scientific Index, reflecting the growing relevance and impact of his scholarly work in governance, public policy and sustainability-related research.