The Starters Academy, NOVA University Lisbon’s oldest entrepreneurship programme, is back for its 2025 edition. Applications are now open, and the course will run from February to May during the second semester of the academic year.  With a 16-year legacy, this programme has already empowered hundreds of NOVA students by equipping them with essential tools to create a start-up. The Starters Academy is renowned for fostering entrepreneurial spirit through a hands-on approach, supported by a panel of experts and recognised trainers in the field.  This multidisciplinary course is open to students from all NOVA Academic Units who successfully pass the selection process. The skills gained in this course are invaluable not only for aspiring start-up founders but also for developing entrepreneurship skills that provide a competitive edge in recruitment processes for both start-ups and established companies.  Apply here! More information here.

At the entrance of the Rectorate, the Formula Student – a project we explored in detail this summer – greeted visitors as they arrived. In the atrium, the innovation fair showcased the most promising spin-offs, CoLABs and projects from across the NOVA innovation ecosystem. Meanwhile, in the auditorium, the best of the University’s research and innovation efforts took centre stage on Tuesday, December 3rd. The event opened with Rector João Sàágua presenting a highly positive overview of the University’s achievements.  “Our scientific output has consistently grown over the past seven years,” he began, highlighting “21 ERC grants awarded since 2018, including two Synergy grants, contributing to a cumulative total of €47 million in ERC funding for NOVA researchers. Over this period, R&D revenues have also doubled.” He further noted a near 30% increase in active patents, 70% of which are protected internationally, and the university’s involvement in 20 projects funded under Component 5 – Business Capitalisation and Innovation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).  

“All this contributes,” he emphasised, “to the establishment of a vibrant scientific community, enriched by important initiatives in entrepreneurship and support for doctoral students, such as the NOVA Doctoral School, already considered one of the best initiatives within the university.”  The Rector also detailed the creation of a strategic research council and a value-creation council, with representation from all academic units, fostering a shared agenda centred on sustainability in its many dimensions. In short: “What we see is the burgeoning of a genuine intellectual culture at NOVA, connecting academia with industry and public institutions to ensure that the knowledge we generate has a tangible impact on society.”   Vice-Rector Isabel Rocha further underscored the growing ecosystem of talent, interdisciplinarity, and impact at NOVA. “The resources we’ve secured reflect the excellence of our research and the talent of our researchers,” she noted. Another major focus has been on open-access science: “NOVA boasts some of the best indicators in this area, as recognised by the Leiden Ranking,” she added.  

The day continued with applause for the Research Impact Narratives initiative, inviting researchers to demonstrate the societal impact of their projects and findings – whether improving citizens’ quality of life, developing innovative products, addressing environmental challenges, or informing better public policy practices.  

“This also serves as a way to recognise the importance of communicating the value of research and innovation investments to society,” Rocha stressed. She highlighted NOVA’s “remarkable progress in entrepreneurship,” exemplified by spin-offs like CellmAbs, a record-breaking technology transfer agreement in biotechnology and life sciences with a Portuguese company. NOVA’s entrepreneurial reputation has extended beyond national borders, earning recognition as Europe’s most entrepreneurial university – a testament to the effort made to attract and retain talent.   After the institutional speeches, the event delved into specific research highlights from the past year.  Arturo Zoffmann Rodriguez from NOVA FCSH kicked off the presentations, discussing his ERC-funded project on the decline of democracies in Europe. Next, Inês Paninho from NOVA FCT demonstrated the current potential of hydrogen as a key energy vector. Mariana Pinho from ITQB NOVA shared updates on her groundbreaking research on antimicrobial resistance, supported by three consecutive ERC grants. Miguel de Castro Neto from NOVA IMS explored research aimed at fostering sustainable urban living, while Susana Peralta from Nova SBE presented findings from her study, Inequality, Individual Behaviour, and Public Policies: Evidence from Fiscal Administrative Data. Silvia Conde from NOVA Medical School and Susana Viegas from ENSP NOVA discussed topics ranging from childhood obesity to the environmental stressors linked to immune-mediated diseases. Tiago Correia from IHMT NOVA concluded this segment with Vax-Action: Tackling Vaccine Hesitancy in Europe, another EU-funded project.  We also learned more about the purpose and results of NIRC – NOVA Interdisciplinary Research Community, which aims to find more sustainable energy systems, with the presentation of the Biorcicle projects, led by Ana Luísa Fernando of NOVA FCT and Ricardo Louro of ITQB NOVA, and Encompas, by Ian Scott of NOVA IMS and António Vicente of NOVA FCT.  The session included the announcement of Ignition Grants – interdisciplinary research scholarships funded in partnership with Santander Foundation, open for applications until January 15, 2025. The morning concluded with the unveiling of the six winners of the Impact Narratives challenge, selected from 25 submissions across eight academic units. The details of these projects are featured in the 2024 edition of the NOVA Science magazine, also available online here.    In the afternoon, the spotlight turned to citizen science initiatives under the Ciência+Cidadã programme. Seven projects, involving 25 researchers and contributions from around 300 participants, were showcased. Notable examples included Oeiras Experimenta, a living lab partnership between ITQB NOVA and the Municipality of Oeiras; Mosquito Web, a mosquito monitoring project launched in 2017; and PAFSE, which addresses public health challenges through science education.   The event also featured presentations of innovative projects, such as DxHub (ITQB NOVA), Jump into Space (Uninova), and a La Caixa Impulse initiative (ITQB and NOVA FCT). Spin-offs like Levacells, Glooma, and The Use Concept also shared their stories.   The final session explored the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence, featuring Daniela Melandri from the European Commission’s AI Directorate live from Brussels. “AI is a fantastic support tool,” Melandri emphasised, “provided it is used responsibly and with awareness of its risks and limitations.” A subsequent roundtable, moderated by Steffen Hoernig (Nova SBE), echoed this sentiment, highlighting the importance of ethical and critical approaches to AI in science and innovation.  

NOVA University Lisbon is positioned as the second academic institution in Portugal with the highest number of European patent applications, according to a report published by the European Patent Organisation (EPO) this Tuesday 22nd. Overall, NOVA submitted a total of 155 applications to the EPO between 2000 and 2020.  The study, which analysed 1,200 European universities, shows that Portugal ranks 17th in Europe in terms of patents of academic origin, with 818 applications submitted in the last two decades.  In the country, 39 higher education institutions contributed to this figure, reinforcing the role of universities in the development of technological and scientific innovation. The pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors are the most prominent in European patent applications of academic origin, reflecting the importance of research in these fields.  By consolidating itself as one of the most important in the country in this field, NOVA University Lisbon reaffirms its relevance in the research and technological development scenario in Portugal and Europe.   Find out more about NOVA’s patented technologies.  Celebrate World Intellectual Property Day 2024 with NOVA   Check the video here! 

The event was a celebration of global excellence in entrepreneurship and societal engagement NOVA University Lisbon together with the Leadership for Impact Knowledge centre from Nova SBE hosted the 2024 ACEEU (Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities) Europe-Africa Forum, bringing together experts and pioneers to push the boundaries of entrepreneurship and engagement in Higher Education. The theme for this year’s event, “Engaged Research and Intrapreneurship for Societal Impact: Creating Legacy Through Action,” highlighted the crucial role of engaged research and the creation of systems within universities that empower both academics and non-academics to act as entrepreneurs.   From September 18 to 20^th, the Rectorate  welcomed educational innovators and leaders from across Europe and Africa for this dynamic event. The Forum also integrated the renowned 2024 Triple E Awards, the first global awards dedicated to recognizing higher education institutions for their commitment to entrepreneurship and societal engagement. NOVA University Lisbon, having previously been honoured twice, continues to demonstrate its leadership in fostering innovation and community impact. This year’s ACEEU Forum offered a rich programme of workshops, discussions, and networking sessions, all designed to promote universities as engines of entrepreneurship and community engagement. NOVA University Lisbon’s ongoing recognition at the Triple E Awards showcases its dedication to shaping vibrant ecosystems and driving positive societal change.   For more information on the event and a detailed programme, visit the official ACEEU Forum and Triple E Awards websites.

GLOOMA, a spin-off from NOVA University Lisbon, was the grand winner of this year's Startup Competition and will represent the university in Berlin at Stage Two. On July 31st, nine teams competed for a spot in the European competition Stage Two. The pitch session was highly competitive and featured high-quality interventions, with the jury composed of Pedro Castel-Branco from Armilar Venture Partners, and Hélder Lopes and Carla Portela from the Innovation and Value Creation Office of NOVA University Lisbon. GLOOMA’s co-founders, Francisco Neto Nogueira and Frederico Stock, will continue working hard to impress investors in October, when they will represent Portugal and NOVA University Lisbon on the international stage in Berlin. Stay tuned!

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The 2024 edition of NOVA ImpAct! Challenges, the program created by the NOVA Impact office and Santander Universities, held its Demo Day this Wednesday, showcasing the best projects aimed at solving social and environmental problems. The winning teams each received a cash prize of €2,000 to further develop their projects.

Here are the winning teams:

Circular Foods from NOVA SBE: Circular Foods aims to reintegrate industrial food waste into a new portfolio of healthy and accessible food and beverage products. These products are designed for customers who struggle to find natural alternatives in the market, with a positive impact on both the planet and the community. The project stands out by prioritizing physical and mental health through natural, upcycled ingredients and offering competitive prices thanks to its circular business model. Team members: António Vidinha, Carolina Piloto, José Sarmento, Carlota Moura, and Carlos Morais.

[caption id="attachment_9682" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Circular Foods[/caption]

EnsinAI from NOVA IMS: EnsinAI empowers students with an AI-powered tutor and gamified platform that provides affordable and engaging education, addressing the shortage of teachers and the high cost of private tutoring. In one line: Quality, engaging, and fun education that is affordable. Team members: Lourenço Martins and Miguel Neto.

[caption id="attachment_9684" align="aligncenter" width="640"] EnsinAI [/caption]

Honourable Mentions:

Sangue.PT from NOVA ENSP: Sangue.PT aims to develop an app for efficient blood management to reduce waste and increase blood donations. It incentivizes blood donors through tailored appeals based on geolocation and current blood type needs. The digital platform also supports education and maintains medical records. Team members: Ana Beatriz, Ana Silva, Elisa Bucho, Francisco Ferreira Pinto, and Gonçalo Lobo.

[caption id="attachment_9686" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Sangue.PT[/caption]

DentAR Kids from NOVA ENSP: DentAR Kids offers a solution to alleviate children's fear of visiting the dentist. It includes an app to familiarize them with procedures before consultations and augmented reality glasses during consultations to make the experience less frightening. This approach improves treatment effectiveness, saves time and materials for clinics, enhances working conditions, and provides children with a better overall experience and oral health. Team members: Amância Trindade, Mafalda Almeida, and Carolina Santos.

[caption id="attachment_9688" align="aligncenter" width="640"] DentAR Kids[/caption]

The jury included Isabel Rocha (Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation, and Value Creation at NOVA), Nuno Comando (Director of Entrepreneurship and Social Investment at Casa do Impacto), Bárbara Leão (Impact Investments Manager at 3XP Global), and Nuno Simões (Head of Santander Universities).

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WISE, the programme promoted by the NOVA Impact office and GALP, in partnership with the Innovation Ecosystem of NOVA SBE, has now come to an end after 12 weeks of intense work by the six participating teams. This program aimed to find innovative solutions that could transform the current energy landscape. Announced this week, the wining project was presented by the team composed of Akil Mambuque (NOVA SBE), Marta Simão (NOVA FCT), Martina Baviera (NOVA SBE), Rodrigo Borba (NOVA FCSH), and Teresa da Cruz (NOVA FCT), with mentorship from Professor Ana Sofia Esteves -  they will receive tickets to the European Innovation Academy, with all expenses paid, a job shadowing opportunity at GALP, and a LinkedIn Badge (a NOVA certificate for LinkedIn). Their proposal is the 'Sunny Solar Bank', which introduces the innovative concept of an "energy bank." This application allows users to deposit the extra energy they produce and use an algorithm that predicts energy availability, suggesting the best times to sell it to the grid. The profits obtained can be converted into discounts on energy bills or invested in renewable energy projects. An honorable mention was also awarded to the team that presented the project 'NEWLY - Alternative Energy Storage Systems':  it aims to revolutionize energy storage systems through the development of a supercapacitor, a component capable of storing and providing a high power density in a short amount of time, using paper electronics to increase the capacity of current storage systems. It was developed by students Beatriz Faria (NOVA FCT), Guilherme Caldeira (NOVA FCT), and Constança Vieira (NOVA FCSH), with mentorship from Professor António Câmara. The jury was composed of Júlia Seixas, Vice-Rector for Sustainability at NOVA; João Ribeiro, Lead Open Innovation Manager; Mafalda Vasquez, Head of Attract, Select, Employee Experience and Belonging; and Pedro Ferreira, Commercial Innovation Unit Manager, all from GALP. Launched in March, WISE emerged in the context of the protocol established between GALP and NOVA for the creation of the NIRC (English acronym for NOVA Interdisciplinary Research Community), which promotes collaboration within the NOVA community and innovation to address emerging challenges in sustainable energy systems.

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The 2024 edition of the Starters Academy, a pioneer in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in the student community and provides basic tools for those who want to create a startup, has reached its final challenge.

On the demo day of this year's programme, which was attended by 28 participants divided into 8 teams, the jury first awarded the prize to the project named Micdrop, which aims to detect and block the use of unauthorised voices, making it the winner of the edition. The team made up of Daniel Fortunato from NOVA FCSH, Jorge Morán from NOVA IMS, Paula Duarte from NOVA School of Law and Ricardo Miranda from NOVA FCSH was the winner, presenting a solution to a problem that is very much on the agenda: With the rise of AI, artists are at risk of having their voices used without their consent - and what Micdrop offers is a secure and proactive system to protect and manage that use.

 

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NOVA University Lisbon has just launched the third edition of 'Academia de Empreendedorismo', now available on the international e-learning platform EdX. EdX is the e-learning platform where the world's top universities host their online courses, and NOVA is a pioneer in creating a Portuguese-language MOOC for entrepreneurship on this platform. The third edition of this MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) aims to bring knowledge to everyone interested in entrepreneurship and in developing management and innovation skills, regardless of their background or geographic location. The course, completely free and open to anyone, offers comprehensive content on entrepreneurship and includes English subtitles, making it accessible to an even broader audience. For many, this course might be the first step towards a career or a way to enhance entrepreneurial skills. The course is part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), aligned with the vision of boosting entrepreneurship in the country. For more information and to enroll, please visit this link.

The second edition of the ADN Awards Gala took place on Monday, April 22, and recognized the most innovative projects in management and best practices within the institution. Among the winners of this edition, the "Research Impact Narratives Challenge" project, presented by Hélder Lopes, Mariana Duarte, and Rita Rua Ferreira, from NOVA's Research and Innovation Support Office, received an honourable mention for encouraging NOVA researchers to communicate the impact of their scientific projects through a contest of narratives accessible to the public, raising awareness of the multiple benefits of science in society. Learn more here.

Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, hosted the Discovery Week, from April 15 to 19, a key event under the EUTOPIA MORE program focused on Innovation Challenges. Coordinated by NOVA University Lisbon, the Innovation Challenges brought together students from ten partner universities to collaborate on real-world problem-solving. Throughout the week, students from across Europe engaged in challenge-based activities with Romanian partners from the public and private sectors. The Discovery Week aimed to promote local engagement and cross-disciplinary collaboration through a series of sessions, group work, and pitch presentations. Students worked together to address practical problems, creating innovative solutions. The week culminated in pitch presentations, where student groups presented their proposed solutions to a panel of experts. The challenge-based format fostered critical thinking and teamwork, emphasizing solutions that could be implemented to make a positive impact in local communities. This initiative in Romania demonstrated NOVA´s commitment to fostering innovation and cross-cultural understanding. The next edition will be held in November in Cergy Université Paris. For more information about Discovery Week and the Innovation Challenges, visit the EUTOPIA University website.

On March 26th, the Resíduos na Linha team seized the spotlight as the top winner at the Circular InNOVA(tion) Program Demo Day, hosted at the Rectorate of NOVA University Lisbon. The team has been awarded €5,000 to propel their project forward. Resíduos na Linha aims to transform waste management by integrating mass and volume sensors with RFID technology into existing recycling containers. Through the collection of individual recycling data, they aspire to implement a pay-as-you-throw system based on waste production levels. The Circular InNOVA(tion) Program, launched in November by NOVA and Sociedade Ponto Verde (SPV), was designed to attract students with innovative projects to address specific challenges posed by SPV: How to devise a fair payment system linked to waste production? How to establish an on-demand waste management system? How to incentivize society to reduce waste while enhancing waste segregation? During the first phase, four teams were chosen. In the subsequent phase of the program, these teams engaged in workshops covering specialized topics and received personalized mentorship to refine their prototypes. The final presentations underwent evaluation by a panel of judges comprising Luísa Pinheiro, Director of Regulation and Compliance at Sociedade Ponto Verde, Paula Guedes, Researcher at NOVA FCT, and Integrated Member of CENSE, and Hélder Lopes, Director for Research and Innovation at NOVA. The other participating teams received honourable mentions for their projects: Smart Recycling aims to develop an advanced bin collector to separate waste in an automatic manner. During the Circular InNOVA(tion) program, Smart recycling focused their efforts on developing an educational solution where individuals can learn how to recycle more and better using gamification methods. Bin it to Win it is a platform that aims to analyse the recycling level of the different neighbourhoods to promote community engagement while also proving important data to SPV. The data will provide insights on which areas need more intervention in terms of education and incentives to recycle more. Trash 4 Goods presented GPT Cycle an innovative AI chatbot that aims to solve recycling questions and doubts promoting waste recycling and stimulate user involvement. All showcased projects were deemed highly promising and will continue to benefit from ongoing support and guidance from NOVA as they advance in their development.

On March 21st, NOVA University's Rectorate held a dynamic event showcasing outcomes of the ‘From Educators to Entrepreneurial Facilitators’ (FEEF) project, which aims to bridge academia and the business sector. FEEF, is an ERASMUS+ initiative that equips educators with facilitation techniques to integrate industry perspectives into classroom settings from day one - recognizing 14 critical soft skills and 10 facilitation techniques, this project fosters relevant learning experiences (check the FEEF methodology). Bringing together students, professors, and business leaders, the event fostered discussions on aligning graduates' skills with industry needs. Using the FEEF toolkit, participants delved into prioritizing soft skills, mapping gaps between academia and business, and creating actionable plans for student success. Through practical sessions, attendees explored diverse approaches to addressing the gap, showcasing the ease of implementing FEEF tools for immediate classroom impact. The FEEF Multiplier Event was open to the public and drew participants from different universities and businesses in and outside Portugal. Managed by NOVA University Lisbon in collaboration with partners, including Santander International Entrepreneurship Center (CISE), University of Cantabria, University of Padova, and the Hogeschool Voor Moving Minds (UCLL), the project heralds a new era of education-business collaboration. Interested educators can access FEEF resources on FEEF's official website, including FEEF tools, the MOOC, the pilot projects and results, to enhance student learning experiences.

In 2023, NOVA University Lisbon launched the second edition of the completely free and accessible online entrepreneurship course, available through the NAU e-learning platform, managed by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT). The short-duration course or micro-credential ‘Academia de Empreendedorismo’ co-financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), provided students with the opportunity to learn basic entrepreneurship concepts and hear firsthand experiences from startup founders, in addition to the opportunity to receive an academic credit (ECTS). According to the European Commission, these micro-credentials represent a real learning opportunity within the context of European education and training systems, allowing for the acquisition of skills suitable for different profiles and needs. This Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) attracted over three thousand registrants, the majority of whom currently reside in mainland Portugal, notably in the Central, Lisbon, and Northern regions. In addition to Portugal, we had participants from 23 other countries, and in the end, 972 digital certificates were awarded, corresponding to a completion rate of 30%. Of these certifications, 63% were awarded to young adults aged 25 or younger, with the majority of Entrepreneurship Academy students being secondary and undergraduate students in different fields of study. These data reveal a growing interest among younger populations in acquiring skills in areas relevant to creating value and impact in society, further underscoring the importance of initiatives like this. Given the recurring success of this course over the past 2 years, NOVA University Lisbon, in collaboration with NAU, will launch a new edition in 2024, with the start date yet to be defined, this time on the EdX platform, ensuring international reach and visibility, thereby contributing to the promotion of NOVA's name as a pioneer in training and empowering Portuguese-speaking entrepreneurship skills worldwide.

The students come from different Academic Units (NOVA FCSH, NOVA IMS, NOVA FCT, and NOVA School of Law) and are already working together to develop solutions that can truly transform the energy landscape by giving new life to used batteries.

Out of the more than 70 students who applied to the WISE programme - launched by the NOVA Impact Office with the support of GALP - 35 were selected to work together to develop the most innovative response to one of the most complex problems facing the world today.

Officially launched on Monday, March 11th, WISE is part of the protocol agreed between GALP and NOVA for the creation of NIRC (NOVA Interdisciplinary Research Community) to foster collaboration within the NOVA community and innovation to address emerging challenges in sustainable energy systems.

For approximately 12 weeks, the selected teams will focus on the following challenges: second-life batteries (including the supply and use of batteries), shared energy storage in energy communities, energy storage for negotiation and arbitration of energy and systems, alternative energy storage options (in addition to chemical batteries).

As well as addressing the challenges posed by GALP, the WISE programme aims to provide a unique learning experience for students, encourage collaboration between different disciplines and stimulate innovation in the energy field.

The winning team will receive all-expenses-paid tickets to the European Innovation Academy, an exclusive opportunity to shadow at GALP, and a NOVA LinkedIn badge.

In a collaborative effort to drive transformative change in the realm of sustainable energies, NOVA University Lisbon and GALP are excited to launch the WISE (World-Changing Innovations for Sustainable Energies) program. This initiative aims to accelerate visionary innovation and address complex challenges in the transition to sustainable energies, specifically focusing on second-life batteries. The WISE program, scheduled to run from March to June 2024, is an innovation sprint designed to immerse five teams of NOVA students into real-world challenges. These teams will work together with mentors from NOVA ecosystem and executives from GALP, to devise solutions that could significantly impact the energy landscape. Participating students will engage in a three-month period of intensive exploration and innovation, applying life-centered innovation methodologies, collaboration, and passion-based learning. The goal is to foster disruptive solutions and tangible outcomes through the creation of a proof-of-concept, no-fi/low-fi prototypes, and proposed business models. The winning team will receive tickets to the European Innovation Academy with all expenses covered, an opportunity for job shadowing at GALP, and a LinkedIn Bagde. Applications for the WISE program are now open and will be accepted until March 4, 2024. Interested students can find more information and apply here.

A pioneer in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship among its student community, the Starters Academy was designed to stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit of students and provide the essential tools for anyone who wants to create a startup.

In addition, the Starters Academy programme is led by a panel of expert mentors and trainers who are recognised in the field and provide invaluable guidance.

Since its inception, hundreds of students have benefited from this hands-on approach to entrepreneurship, and many have successfully launched their businesses.

Now there is another opportunity for anyone interested in developing an existing project or improving their entrepreneurial skills.

Registrations must be made through this link by 2 February 2024.

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Circular In(NOVA)tion is a program dedicated to attracting students with innovative projects to address specific challenges posed by Sociedade Ponto Verde (SPV).

The initiative addresses key challenges for SPV, such as creating a fair pay-as-you-throw system, establishing an "on-demand" waste management system, and encouraging society to reduce waste while promoting better separation.

During the kick-off meeting on November 17th, participants and the SPV team discussed the intricacies of packaging management, presented challenges, and addressed doubts. The teams also engaged in a session on 'How to make an impactful pitch,' aiming to captivate the jury's interest in the potential of their ideas and the chance to advance to the next phase.

Four projects have progressed to the second phase, ongoing until March 2024.

Each selected team has received €1000 to further develop their projects in collaboration with SPV partners. The teams also benefit from dedicated mentoring from NOVA and access to specialized workshops covering critical project development topics.

Stay tuned for more updates!

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Smart Recycling introduced the Smart Bin, a user-centric container incorporating AI and a delta robot for efficient waste identification and separation. Users are incentivized through the Smart App, ensuring a fast and reliable recycling experience while also encouraging education and behaviour change.

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Resíduos na Linha that aims to install mass and volume sensors with RFID technology in existing recycling bins. By collecting individual recycling data, the goal is to implement a Pay-As-You-Throw system.

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Bin it to Win it that aims to establish a recycling platform that monitors and celebrates individual and community recycling accomplishments, promoting sustainable practices and community engagement in environmental conservation.

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The Trash4Goods team is gamifying waste recycling to encourage user participation. Stay tuned for more on how they're making recycling both enjoyable and rewarding, contributing to a circular economy.

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The agreement, announced this week by Portuguese biotech company CellmAbs, a spin-off of Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, includes patented technology originating from NOVA's Faculty of Science and Technology (NOVA FCT) and developed in collaboration with the Portuguese Institute of Oncology of Porto (IPO) and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) in Germany. The technology is the result of years of collaborative research with the epicentre in Professor Paula Videira's group at NOVA FCT, including contributions from the NOVA Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and is representative of the excellence in scientific and translational research produced at this university. This is the largest technology transfer agreement ever signed with a Portuguese company in the field of biotechnology and life sciences, and the most important in this field, as it could lead to the first innovative Portuguese medicine for oncology to reach the market. In this case, the production of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific to cancer cells, without affecting healthy cells, represents a fundamental advance, as it allows treatments that attack the disease more effectively, with fewer side effects, and that are personalised, i.e. adapted to the individual characteristics of each patient's cancer. "These therapies, which are effective in more than 80% of solid tumours, can be adapted to different tumour stages, ensure lower toxicity and lower risk of chemoresistance, improving patient tolerance and quality of life, and also help prevent tumour progression and escape," assures Nuno Prego Ramos, co-founder and CEO of CellmAbs. Founded in 2019 as a spin-off from the Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, CellmAbs specialises in new cancer treatments and has several preclinical candidates in its portfolio based on its advanced knowledge of cancer-specific antigens. Today, it is a success story in technology transfer and value creation, an area that the University has strategically strengthened in recent years and which is beginning to bear fruit. "It is with great pride that we see a technology that was originally developed in one of NOVA's research centres being recognised for its potential to save lives with a high probability, confirming in practice the quality of the cutting-edge research carried out at the university and the impact it can have on society," emphasises Vice-Rector Isabel Rocha, who is responsible for research and innovation at Universidade NOVA de Lisboa. CellmAbs is also particularly optimistic about this agreement, as the company is expected to be the first in the life sciences sector in Portugal to surpass the one billion euro mark. Recently, the same CellmAbs was awarded twice by Portugal Ventures for work carried out throughout 2023.

Officially launched in June 2019, CellmAbs is one of the official spin-offs recognized by NOVA and has already raised a significant first round of investment that will allow it to develop a new class of immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer. The entire investment has now been acknowledged by Portugal Ventures.

"Recognition of the work done by the companies in which we invest is extremely important, as it shows that we continue to believe in their businesses and encourages the rest of the portfolio to achieve their goals," said Rui Ferreira, President of Portugal Ventures, in announcing the awards. "For us, it is also a thank you for choosing us as an investment partner who is present in good times and bad, and who believes in the success of these start-ups daily".

In total, Portugal Ventures, the venture capital company of the Banco Português de Fomento Group, awarded 11 prizes to the start-ups in its investment portfolio that stood out during 2023 - two of which went to NOVA University Lisbon spin-off CellmAbs.

In addition to the 2023 Revelation Start-up Award, for being the company that stood out the most in the portfolio of each business unit during the year, CellmAbs also received the 2023 Health Technologies Start-up Award - which recognizes its positioning and development from a global market perspective, taking into account the product, its internal capabilities, progress towards the market and the attraction of partners and investors.

To determine the winners of this edition - which you can read in full here - Portugal Ventures relied on the collaboration of a group of personalities who work every day in the entrepreneurial ecosystem: António Grilo, from the National Innovation Agency; Luís Guerreiro, from IAPMEI; Pedro Silveira, from AICEP; Carlos Abade, from Turismo de Portugal; Manuel Caldeira Cabral, from Startup Portugal; Conceição Zagalo, from the Corporate Citizenship Reflection and Support Group (GRACE); Cristina Campos, investor; Marcelo Lebre, from Remote; Isabel Neves, investor; and Vanda Jesus, from iCapital.

On the 6th of December, NOVA University Lisbon held its first NOVA Interdisciplinary Research Communities (NIRC) Workshop, focusing on Sustainable Energy Systems.

This event aimed to be a kick-off in the promotion of interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation on Sustainable Energy Systems at NOVA, underlining the University's commitment to addressing the challenges of this topic.

The event, organized by the Research and Innovation Support Division, featured a workshop led by Professor Guilherme Victorino and his team at the NOVA Innovation & Analytics Lab, with the active participation of 24 researchers from 6 academic units.

To foster collaboration within the NOVA community, and innovation to address emerging challenges in sustainable energy systems, participants were encouraged to form teams to develop collaborative ideas in different knowledge areas.

Highlighting the institution's commitment to dynamic and collaborative research, Professor Isabel Rocha, Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation, and Value Creation at NOVA, graced the event with her presence and emphasized the importance of the initiative for the future of impactful research at the university.

Five prominent members of Galp, NOVA’s partner in this NIRC, including João Ribeiro and Manuel Andrade from the Open Innovation team, and Inês Marques, Pedro Ferreira, and Ioana Ratiu, Galp experts in the workshop's thematic areas, played a key role in this event, by presenting some of the energetic challenges for the future, with vibrant participation of all members in the discussion rounds following the presentations.

A second workshop has already been scheduled for the 17th of January 2024, at the Innovation & Analytics Laboratory of NOVA IMS - NOVA Campolide Campus.

To know more about the NIRC on Sustainable Energy Systems, please visit our dedicated website 

Join the NIRC excitement and do not miss out on the thrilling activities coming your way!  

In 2023, NOVA University Lisbon launched the Research Impact Narratives Challenge, inviting professors and researchers affiliated to any of the university's academic units to translate the impact of their research projects into narratives.

Considering that it is imperative that society at large understands and appreciates the results of research activities, and that innovation funding agencies at both national and European level are placing increasing emphasis on measuring the impact of projects under development, the Research Impact Narratives Challenge was the format chosen to enable NOVA researchers to do so.

The winners were announced at the NOVA Science and Innovation Day, and the 6 winning projects come from a wide range of research areas:

Catarina Barreira, from the NOVA FCSH Institute of Medieval Studies, presented a reflection on the liturgical books produced at the Alcobaça Monastery. The project, which will provide new insights into the history, relationships and changes in the rituals of one of the first Cistercian monastic foundations built in Portugal, aims to contribute to the creation of training courses for tourist guides and the improvement of guided tours of the monastery.

Luís Crespo de Andrade, researcher at the NOVA FCSH Humanities Centre (CHAM), presented an analysis of the Revista Ideias e Culturas (RIC) portal, which provides universal and indexed access to influential magazines from the 20th century. The RIC has more than 100,000 users and was awarded last year in the Ler+ Awards, as proof of its importance in promoting modern cultural heritage and humanities research.

Maria de Lurdes Rosa, also a professor at the Institute of Medieval Studies at NOVA FCSH, submitted the project "Family Archives, Community Archives", in which she pointed out that, contrary to the situation in most European countries, family archives in Portugal are poorly described and studied. Considering that history suffers from this absence, the work has had an immediate impact on the availability of valuable archives that were previously unknown - and has even taken on an international dimension, winning a grant from the European Research Council.

Mauro Castelli, researcher at the NOVA Information Management School, was the author of the paper "An Artificial Intelligence (AI) system for detecting and preventing online gambling addiction". It is an AI-based system developed to identify common behavioural patterns among Portuguese online gamblers, highlighting actions that may pose a risk to the user.

Miguel de Castro Neto, currently director of the NOVA Information Management School, presented a work developed by the NOVA Cidade laboratory. Called Smart Region, it is a territorial analysis platform that aims to change the paradigm of data-based public policies. Using data science and geographic information systems, it tells how the inter-municipal community of the West is already enjoying the benefits of being a Smart Region.

Tatiana Morais, from the Centre for Research & Development on Law and Society (CEDIS) at the NOVA School of Law, is the author of "Contributing to the improvement of the legal framework for Sexual and Gender Violence in Portugal", which focuses on the introduction of legislation in the Portuguese Labour Code to combat sexual harassment in the workplace through the adoption of a code of conduct - with a consequent redefinition of what constitutes a crime in this context, and shows the positive impact on survivors of sexual harassment and rape.

The papers are all published in detail in the magazine NOVA Science 2023, which you can read here. 

Portugal's Entrepreneurial Universities Ranking'23, in partnership with Dealroom and based on the "Universities" tab of the Startup Portugal dashboard, analyses the performance of national universities in educating entrepreneurs. The evaluation includes categories such as startups founded by alumni, unicorns or potential unicorns founded by alumni, as well as the number of spin-offs or funding raised by the startups.

This year, NOVA University Lisbon shared the podium with the University of Porto (1st) and the Catholic University (2nd). Based on the figures presented by Startup Portugal and adjusting the number of founders to the university's student population, NOVA stands out as the national public university with the best ratio of alumni founders.

NOVA also stands out in the number of startups with the potential to become unicorns, and in the number of alumni who have already raised investment rounds of more than 10 million euros, which demonstrates the quality of the university's education in general and reflects its ongoing commitment to entrepreneurship education with an impact on the country's society and economy.

NOVA University Lisbon congratulates all the universities present in this ranking, especially those on the podium, and will certainly continue to work actively to train more and better entrepreneurs and to guarantee the necessary conditions for the effective valorisation of knowledge.

Jorge Santos and Aqua In Silico (AIS), a spin-off company from NOVA University Lisbon, were the protagonists of episode 1666 on the podcast '90 Seconds of Science' on Antena 1. Jorge Santos is a co-founder of Aqua In Silico, which utilizes artificial intelligence tools to optimize wastewater treatment processes. The startup is developing comprehensive, data-driven solutions to accelerate the sustainable development of water recovery facilities and waste management, contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs #6, #12, and #14). The company is part of a multidisciplinary R&D team that develops solutions to help facilities: #1 enhance biological process performance #2 ensure environmental compliance #3 save resources #4 generate new revenue streams from waste management #5 support bioprocess engineering The spotlight on Aqua In Silico in the podcast is another step in promoting innovative solutions that have the potential to positively transform the global sanitation landscape. Listen to the full episode.

In the 6th edition of the NOVA Science and Innovation Day, it became inevitable to say that this is an event that is attracting increasing interest. "It has become a hallmark of NOVA's excellence in research and innovation," stressed NOVA's Rector, João Sàágua, in his welcome speech at the beginning of the event, which took place throughout the 21st of November - and which you can read in full here.

"There would be no science and innovation without scientists and entrepreneurs, so allow me to thank in particular our teachers, researchers and other talented professionals from all our schools for the incredible work they do every day", stressed the Rector.

Isabel Rocha, Vice Rector in charge of Research and Innovation at NOVA, also emphasised that, in addition to publications, it is important to take into account their impact - and in this respect, "NOVA is 30 per cent above the international average".

With a particular focus on interdisciplinarity and the impact of the excellent research carried out at NOVA, the programme began with a section dedicated to the University's researchers who have stood out over the past year, both in terms of attracting funding and the impact of the research carried out, as well as the presentation and awarding of prizes to the winners of the Impact Narratives Challenge in Research, which can be read in the recently launched NOVA Science magazine.

The afternoon session was dedicated to innovation, with the presentation of a remarkable success story in the transfer of scientific knowledge to society - an extraordinary feat told by Holger Kissel, Senior Vice President of Scientific Relations at BioNTech, which has changed our lives forever.

BioNTech, a German biotechnology company founded in 2008 by two scientists of Turkish origin, became famous in 2020 with the development of the COVID-19 vaccine in partnership with Pfizer. The same vaccine that, in December 2020, will be the first to be authorised for emergency use after phase III trials.

There was also time for a round table with various representatives of the NOVA innovation ecosystem and its partners - at the same time as the Innovation Fair was taking place in the atrium of the presbytery, with the presence of various patented technologies, specialised services, CoLabs, Spi-offs and other companies from the university ecosystem.

An international event that brought together the largest technology companies in the world, highlighting the importance of innovation and start-ups in the development of society and the economy. (more…)

Sea4Us, a marine resources biotechnology company based in Sagres and a spin-off of Nova Medical School, has just received the news that it has been approved for funding of 5.96 million euros, awarded by the European Innovation Council (EIC), to advance clinical trials that will allow us to bring an innovative analgesic to the market.

It is a non-opioid, marine-inspired, highly effective treatment for chronic pain, a problem that affects 1.6 billion people worldwide. The therapy developed by Sea4Us eliminates the side effects of current opioid-based drugs without compromising their efficacy.

The European Innovation Council (EIC) is Europe's leading innovation programme for identifying, developing and scaling up innovative technologies.

Created under the Horizon Europe programme, the EIC has a budget of €10.1 billion to support innovations throughout their life cycle.

All information on this funding here

Applications for the second edition of the "Academia de Empreendedorismo" (Entrepreneurship Academy) organized by NOVA University, are now open. Available on the national e-learning platform NAU, this online and free course offers everyone the opportunity to acquire essential management and innovation skills. Applications close on December 14, and the course can be completed by December 21, 2023. It is a short-duration, self-paced, free course taught in Portuguese with English subtitles, and it is aimed not only at university students but at anyone who wants to learn more about managing their own professional projects. At the end, students may receive an academic credit (ECTS). The "Academia de Empreendedorismo" is structured into six modules with multiple lessons, covering topics such as creating a business plan and/or a suitable pitch for different audiences, engaging with customers and partners, market sizing, identifying funding opportunities for your project, protecting copyright and intellectual property rights, understanding team profiles for different project types, and grasping the legal principles for starting a company. Each lesson has a duration of five to ten minutes, totaling 18 lessons. The course is co-financed by the European Union's Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP). NOVA's knowledge is once again accessible to all those who want to learn more about entrepreneurship and take a new step in their lives. The first edition, in 2022, had over six thousand applicants from 33 countries. Applications are open in the following site: Curso Academia de Empreendedorismo Deadline for application - December 14. Course can be completed until December 21, 2023

Projects by Ana Pina from NOVA FCT, Mónica Serrano, from ITQB NOVA and Maria de Guadalupe Cabral, from NOVA Medical School, have been selected by CaixaImpulse, an intensive 18-month accelerator programme for the creation of new products and companies in the health and life sciences sectors.

Specifically, the CaixaImpulse programme aims to support universities and research projects that want to transfer a proprietary or protected innovation from research to the market, either as a spin-off or as a transfer agreement, and whose value proposition needs to be validated and developed.

The proposals include:

• The development of bio-batteries inspired by collagen as a source of energy for electronic devices for the skin, such as the project led by Ana Pina, with the participation of researchers Felipe Conzuelo (ITQB NOVA), Catarina Baptista and Leonor Morgado from NOVA FCT, and also researcher Erin Tranfield from the Gulbenkian Science Institute.
• A cheaper, faster and more versatile alternative to PCR for pathogen detection; this is the case of the project led by Mónica Serrano, resulting from the collaboration between the Microbial Development Laboratory, led by Adriano Henriques, and the Yeast Molecular Biology Laboratory, led by Catarina Pimentel, also from ITQB NOVA.
• and the identification of a new type of biomarker and therapeutic target to combat breast cancer, a project led by Maria Guadalupe Cabral, who heads a multidisciplinary team that includes doctors Sofia Braga and Telma Martins, from the Prof. Dr. Fernando Fonseca Hospital and CUF Descobertas.

Amazon has just announced the winners of the Alexa Prize TaskBot Challenge 2, and the result couldn't be more encouraging, as the first place was won by the team from the Department of Informatics/NOVA LINCS of the Faculty of Science and Technology of NOVA University Lisbon.

The competition, which has a cash prize of 500,000 dollars (circa 475 000 euros), rewards university teams from around the world that develop solutions to one of the most challenging problems in conversational artificial intelligence (AI): creating conversational AI experiences that respond to users' ever-changing needs while performing complex tasks.

The expectation is that TaskBot, Alexa's conversational agent - the virtual assistant developed by Amazon - will be able to communicate effectively and guide the user through manual tasks, from cooking to making origami. This year, the competing teams were challenged to find solutions that incorporated more visuals into each conversation.

The NOVA FCT team, known as "TWIZ", developed a solution that works on two fronts, integrating voice and video. For example, the agent can teach a user how to perform a complex manual task, such as cooking, painting, arranging objects, etc., and even dialogue in detail about the instructions with video support.

Read more on the NOVA FCT website.

The team will represent Universidade Nova de Lisboa at the Stage Two competition, in Berlin. (more…)

NOVA University Lisbon renowned for its strong international focus, commitment to sustainable development, and collaborative research culture has been honoured by the Technological Scouting Program (more…)

On July 14th, was the eagerly awaited Demo Day of the NOVA impACT! Challenges 2023, an innovative programme created by the NOVA Impact office in partnership with Santander Universities. (more…)

SDG-aligned university is looking for candidates with the most innovative ideas in the field of sustainability, recycling and waste management. Applications open until September 16th, 2023. (more…)

NOVA University Lisbon and Galp will promote, over the next three years, the development of new solutions in the field of clean and renewable energies by students, faculty and researchers gathered in the first interdisciplinary community of the University, called "Zero Carbon Energy". Through a protocol signed this Thursday by the two institutions, NOVA places all its know-how and its community at the service of the industry to find alternatives that can help to mitigate the effects of climate change, through a process of decarbonization, meeting the European Union's goals of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. In this domain, research projects will be developed in areas such as Renewable Energies, Mobility and Batteries. In the area of innovation and entrepreneurship, the multidisciplinary community of NOVA students and researchers will be called to participate in idea competitions, hackathons and in the development of proofs of concept, in response to challenges launched by Galp aligned with the sustainable development goals. The protocol signing ceremony was attended, on the side of NOVA, by the Rector, João Sàágua, and the Vice-Rector, Isabel Rocha, and, on the side of Galp, by Georgios Papadimitriou, Member of the Board of Directors and of the Executive Committee, COO Renewables & New Businesses, and by Ana Casaca, Global Head of Innovation. Isabel Rocha, Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation and Value Creation, said that "Sustainability is one of the central pillars of NOVA and being able to contribute with our research excellence to find greener alternatives in the energy field is the certainty that we are creating value for our community. It is time for us to act with solutions based on the best science and technology. This is also the role of academia and NOVA in particular". In turn, Ana Casaca, Global Head of Innovation at Galp, added that "Half of the technologies that will help us decarbonise the world and make the energy transition are not yet known or tested. Collaboration with universities and the expansion of our innovation ecosystem is essential for Galp to overcome these technological challenges, thus being closer to the goal of carbon neutrality in 2050 and the democratisation of sustainable and inclusive energy solutions demanded by society." In addition to areas related to research and innovation, this protocol will enable the development of joint initiatives in the area of education, as well as the promotion of talent and employment in the energy sector.

On the 10th of November 2022, another edition of the Born from Knowledge – Ideas (BfK) programme, from ANI (National Innovation Agency), took place in Porto. BfK Ideas is the contest that gathers the best business ideas "born from knowledge" in science and/or technology. The Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, had the presence of the ColoRIR team, formed by ENSP students Andreia Ferreira, Jeanete Calderon and Joana Osório, who had the opportunity to participate in the digital immersion programme in October and also in the final event where they presented their pitch at the Congress Centre of Alfândega do Porto, in the category "health and wellbeing". Despite not being one of the winning teams, the ColoRIR team highlights the learning process and the feedback received, in their testimonial about the participation experience:

"The experience was very positive, we received very constructive feedback and felt immense support from both our mentor and the entire ANI organisation. None of this would have been possible without the recommendation of the NOVA ImpACT office that has been accompanying us and encouraging us to participate in programmes that value innovative business ideas and guide and promote them."

Remember that the ColoRIR team was one of the winning teams of the NOVA impACT Challenges!, initiative that took place during 3 weeks in July and that promotes the acceleration of projects based on the creation of prototypes.

Online course in entrepreneurship   NOVA University Lisbon has launched its first online course on entrepreneurship, entitled "Academia de Empreendedorismo" (Entrepreneurship Academy). Accessible to all interested parties and available through the NAU platform, managed by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), the course is completely free and open to anyone wishing to develop an innovative project and acquire management skills. It is a free, short course, to be done at one's own pace, taught in Portuguese and aimed not only at university students, but to all those who want to learn more about how to manage their own professional projects. At the end, students can receive an academic credit (ECTS). Step by step, the best faculty from different Schools of NOVA reveal basic concepts of entrepreneurship and invite founders of startups to share their experiences. The Entrepreneurship Academy is structured in six modules, with several classes that range from knowing how to make a business plan and/or an adequate pitch to different interlocutors, approach clients and partners, set prices, identify opportunities to finance the project, protect copyrights and intellectual property, identify team profiles according to the type of project or understand the legal principles to create a company. Each class lasts between five and ten minutes, for a total of eighteen classes.

REGISTRATIONS

Registrations are open on the following website: Curso Academia de Empreendedorismo Deadline for registrations - 22 December. The course can be completed by 29 December, 2022.

MORE INFORMATION

Contact novaimpact@unl.pt This course is co-funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan by the European Union.

The University was recently distinguished at European level as "Young Entrepreneurial University of the Year". (more…)

July 28th, 2022, at the NOVA Innovation and Analytics Lab @ NOVA IMS was the day eight teams fought for a place in the grand stage of Stage Two! The teams participated in the NOVA Start-up Competition where only one winner could be selected to represent NOVA University Lisbon in October, in Berlin. With a lot of great pitches and interventions from our Jury, the session was intense and the winner hard to choose. Congratulations to all participants and specially to eBreathie for winning the competition and being NOVA University Lisbon great representatives. The other teams that were also competing were:

• Surf Eye
• AdaptionLab
• Sea!D
• Inspira Legal
• Mellody
• Zarela
• Connactive

The Jury was composed of:

• Pedro Almeida, Senior Associate of Armilar Ventures
• António Martinez, Investment Manager at Portugal Ventures
• Pedro Saraiva, Dean of Nova IMS

On July 15th, we held the NOVA impACT! Challenges Demo Day where we got to see the fantastic results of the three week acceleration program. We were so thrilled with so many amazing projects we couldn't just pick one winner: so we picked two! Congratulations to Mellody and ColoRIR for winning a cash prize of 2.000€. The NOVA impACT! Challenges competition is a program created by the NOVA Impact office together with Santander Universidades to give teams the opportunity to take their innovative projects out of the paper. During 3 weeks, together with a team of experts and mentors, the program helps you to accelerate your project and develop a prototype.  

NOVA University Lisbon was awarded "Young Entrepreneurial University of the Year" by the Accreditation for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities (ACEEU), during the Triple E Awards ceremony, which took place in Florence. This is the first time, in Europe, that a higher education institution is distinguished for its role in the creation of value in society, through innovation. NOVA was among the five finalists chosen by a specialized jury. Through its students, alumni and researchers, NOVA has created more than 100 startups. Every year, more than 2500 students get involved in activities related to entrepreneurship, and there are 19 spin-offs recognised by NOVA that are responsible for the creation of more than 165 jobs.

In order to raise awareness amongst the NOVA community regarding the potentialities of IP and IP rights, NOVA Impact hosted an event on this topic. It gathered scientists, researchers and other academic and non-academic staff together to learn about the importance of IP in their works and projects, as well as to provide them with some basic knowledge on some technicalities regarding the protection of their inventions. There was also a presentation on NOVA's policies and internal procedures, whilst providing some insights on best practices and other useful tips. The event was structured following a parallel technical workshop (WS) approach, according to the participants’ field of knowledge and preference. stimulating fruitful discussions regarding the actual challenges that scientists, researchers and other academic and non-academic staff face when managing their projects, IP portfolio and knowledge transfer strategies. This has been a great opportunity to stimulate faculty in engaging with experts on this field, namely patent attorneys. A big special thanks to J. Pereira da Cruz who partnered with us to host this event.

In this 2nd edition of the prestigious awards, NOVA is part of the list of finalists in the "Young Entrepreneurial University of the Year Award" category - but that's not all (more…)

Innovators, this day is for you.

(more…)

AquaInSilico, a NOVA Spin-off® company, together with Frontier IP Group, has won an Innovation and Business Development Award granted by the UK Department for International Trade in Portugal. The prizes were delivered by Chris Barton, Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Europe, along with Christopher Sainty, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Portugal, in an event at the British Ambassador’s Residence in Lisbon, on March 10th, 2022.

NOVA University Lisbon is part of the Pan-European Seal Network and has recently extended the Pan-European Seal Traineeship Programme, jointly offered by Europe’s largest Intellectual Property (IP) organizations – the European Patent Office (EPO) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). This traineeship program provides young graduates and high-performance university students, in their final year of studies, as well as Ph.D. candidates, with access to 12-month paid traineeships at the EPO, in Munich, Germany, or at the EUIPO, in Alicante, Spain, contributing to their insertion in the competitive world of IP through an enriching multicultural professional experience, advanced training and teamwork. As such, more than 50 students from NOVA, coming from seven of its Organic Units, applied the Pan-European Seal Traineeship Programme. The selection process was conducted by the NOVA Impact office, resulting in a total of 24 students nominated to the EPO and 26 to the EUIPO. As trainees at the EPO and the EUIPO, high-achieving university graduates will undertake challenging assignments in a range of departments. Through a combination of on-the-job work experience and professional training, trainees will have the opportunity to learn, develop skills and increase employability within their specific area of competence over the course of one year. There is a wide range of opportunities for several fields of knowledge such as Law, Science & Engineering, Political Sciences, International Relations, Linguistics, Economics, Business Administration/Entrepreneurship, Information Technology and, Communication. For more information about this programme, follow NOVA Impact on LinkedIn to be the first to know about new opportunities.

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The Pan European Seal Professional Traineeship Programme is a paid internship programme offered by the EPO (European Patent Office) and the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) for students and alumni of some of the largest European colleges/universities.

NOVA has partnered up with EPO and EUIPO and is inviting its students and recent alumni to participate in this programme and experience what it is like to work for 12 month in an intellectual property office.

The EPO, in Munich, and the EUIPO, in Alicante, are looking for graduates for the 2022/2023 vacancies.

Applications open until February 22th, 2022!

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10 impactful projects compete to solve NOVA's proposed challenges with the support of Santander Universities (more…)

The NOVA impACT! Challenges is back. Through this program, NOVA University Lisbon and Santander Bank, want to leverage the knowledge, innovation and creativity at the service of society and support the development of 10 innovative solutions, easy to implement and of global impact, to respond to the societal and environmental challenges identified in the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

An application that transforms mobile phone data into a source of income and a team that develops innovative solutions based on faecal microbiota, were the winners of this year's NOVA STARTUP Competition, a competition for innovative projects promoted by NOVA University. Modatta and YourBiome, represented by their co-founders Rodrigo Moretti and Daniel Neves, respectively, were considered the two best teams by the jury composed by the Pro-Rector of NOVA for the areas of Entrepreneurship of Social and Economic Value Creation, Professor Isabel Rocha, João Martins (Program Manager, Indico Capital Partners) and Pedro Castel Branco (Senior Associate, Armilar). The Modatta and YourBiome teams will now represent NOVA at Stage Two, scheduled for the month of October in Berlin, where they will have the opportunity to present their project to potential investors, meet the best teams of entrepreneurs from European universities and achieve international visibility. The Final, which took place on July 30, brought together 9 teams in competition: Intuitivo, YourBiome, eBreathie, Modatta, Preflet, AdaptionLab, BINDIN, Glooma and nøytrall.

On the 8th of July, the Rectorate of the NOVA University Lisbon hosted the NOVA Innovation Day. knowledge-based value, through collaborations with the business and social representatives. The Rector, Prof. João Sàágua, opened the ceremony followed by the Pro-Rector, Prof. Isabel Rocha, who summarized the main points of action of the University in the field of innovation, entrepreneurship and value creation and presented the NOVA Innovation digital platform that brings together, in an easily accessible virtual space, the main initiatives and activities related to the Third Mission of the University. Click here to see some Innovation Facts and Figures at NOVA The program continued with two roundtables session, to share the knowledge and experiences. The first focused on Technology Transfer and University-Business Relations, moderated by Pedro Saraiva, Director of NOVA IMS, with speakers Nuno Prego Ramos, CEO CellmAbs (NOVA Spin-off), João Paulo Oliveira, Co-CEO, BiLD Analytics (NOVA Spin-off), and Nuno Coelho, CEO A4F-AlgaFuel & Vice President CoLab BIOREF. The second roundtable, dedicated to the Transfer of Knowledge and Impact on Society, was moderated by Hélder Lopes, from the NOVA Impact Office, and included Jorge Portugal, COTEC General Director, Cristina Ventura, Public Policy Manager, Roche Portugal, Henrique Silveira, Professor at IHMT, Joana Castro e Costa, Executive Director, Nova SBE Leadership for Impact Knowledge Center, and Luís Baptista, President of INNO – NOVA Social Innovation Center. The President of ANI – National Innovation Agency, Joana Mendonça, was responsible for the closing session. Review the event here

The Campolide Campus Day was celebrated today with the presentation of the concept for the new campus. (more…)

The Rector of NOVA University Lisbon, João Sàágua, stated that the collaborative laboratory (CoLab) InnovPlantProtect (InPP), is an ally of sustainability in agricultural production, as it has been developing innovative solutions to protect crops from pests and diseases. It was in an interview with Vida Rural magazine that the Rector of NOVA spoke about the importance of this CoLab installed in Elvas, which is coordinated by NOVA. (more…)

The NOVA University Lisbon, through the Nova Tourism and Hospitality (TOHO) platform and NOVA Impact, is a partner of the Mind The Tourism program - mind your footprint, mind your health. Launched by NEST - Tourism Innovation Center, this program focuses on encouraging the creation of sustainable innovation solutions in the tourism sector. NOVA conceptualized the program and is organizing several initiatives, with emphasis on the roundtables and the Hackathon. Planetiers, an entity that promotes sustainable change, is also involved in the organization of the program, with a series of talks on opportunities for innovation in tourism. Mind The Tourism program aims to map opportunities for innovation in tourism and promote the creation of sustainable technological solutions, ready to test in the market. To this end, the program will bring together several stakeholders from the tourism industry around sustainable innovation. SMEs, startups, the academic community, companies and professionals will identify and work on the greatest tourism opportunities around three axes: Sustainability, Safety, Health and Well-being. The program is divided into two phases. The first phase concerns a set of talks and roundtables, where several priority challenges for tourism will be identified. In a second phase, which corresponds to the Hackathon, the challenges identified will be addressed to develop, in record time, technological solutions. In the end, three solutions will be chosen to be implemented in the market, through pilot projects. 1st phase - Opportunities Debate and Mapping To inspire the discussion on problems and identify opportunities in the tourism sector, Planetiers will bring together a set of national and international experts who will address the main themes for the future for tourism in a series of talks. European Ecological Pact, Climate Change, Carbon Footprint and Solutions, Big Data for Carbon and Solutions, Circular and Disruptive Solutions and Future Fit Tourism are the themes of these sessions, which will be available from March 15th on NEST's Youtube channel. In turn, between March 29th and April 9th, NOVA promotes roundtables, which will bring together specialists and entities from the public and private sector related to the sectorial topic under discussion, to make tangible the problems and opportunities associated with the three axes of the program. Among the guests will be representatives of associations and municipalities, companies in the sector, technological startups, individuals of recognized merit, among others, who will share their knowledge and promote the identification of solutions based on data and technology. The themes of the sessions are: Sustainable Mobility in Cities, Healthy and Ecological Restoration, Safe, Healthy and Sustainable Accommodation, Future Events, Cultural and Identity Heritage, Nature and the Ocean. These sessions will be broadcast live on NEST's YouTube channel. 2nd phase - Hackathon The second phase of the program is a Hackathon between April 30th and May 2nd, for the development of technological solutions for the opportunities mapped in talks and roundtables. This phase of the program will have the support of NOVA Information Management School (NOVA IMS), NOVA Medical School, Turismo de Portugal, Lisbon City Hall, NOS and Brisa - Via Verde. Applications for the Hackathon will open on March 29th on the program's website. All the initiatives of Mind The Tourism program are free to access and take place online.

NOVA University Lisbon launched today the Innovation District, a project aiming to create a new global city in Almada, that will combine a unique and sustainable lifestyle in a new geography of innovation and technological knowledge. The first steps of this project, which involves a group of owners and investors and has the strategic support of the Municipality of Almada, were taken in 2019. By intervening in the areas of Monte da Caparica and Porto Brandão - distinguished by their potential for innovative knowledge, for the landscape and for the unique natural conditions - the Innovation District will provide the creation of a new city, modern and requalified, that will be a place of vanguard of ideas and innovations, attracting companies - national and international - and people. The Innovation District comprises a total area of ​​399 hectares, of which 110 hectares are green areas, and an investment of more than 800 million euros is estimated for its implementation. Among the main figures that define its size are the arrival of 4,500 new inhabitants to the new city, the creation of 1,000 new housing units, an area of ​​250,000 m2 for the implementation of new economic activities that will contribute to the creation of 17,000 new jobs and 86,000 m2 of tourist infrastructure. Based on the Live-work-play concept, the Innovation District will be a unique and plural city, designed to raise the quality of life of each of its inhabitants for whom all the various interest points will be within a short 15 minute distance.   NOVA School of Science and Technology | FCT NOVA, projeto do arquiteto João Pedro Falcão de Campos   With the Campus of NOVA School of Science and Technology as its central point, the Innovation District places knowledge, qualified talent and innovation as an engine for urban development and transformation. As a space of innovation It also intends to become a magnet for companies and people, contributing to promote the development of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area and leveraging its internationalization potential. Finally, it is a project focused on creating a creative, diverse, energetic and sustainable community, inspired by a better quality of life. The project includes the creation of a new sustainable city, anchored in the objectives defined by sustainable development until 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050, integrating an array of innovative environmental solutions.

Sciencepreneur Hands-on aims to accelerate knowledge transfer at NOVA, supporting scientists with a technological or scientific breakthrough to identify the best path for its commercialization, through a one-on-one guidance on how to build a go-to-market strategy, from research results to impact. The first edition of this program took place between 7 December 2020 and 12 March 2021. Over three months, three teams with promising scientific and technological projects participated in an immersive program that allowed them to acquire skills to accelerate their solutions with the support of dedicated mentors, and from the entire NOVA Mentor Network, who accompanied the evolution of the teams and facilitated the validation of their business models. The three selected entrepreneurial projects for this first pilot edition are from the health and life sciences field, demonstrating the potential for innovation in this field at NOVA. Among the projects are: a device to assess the effectiveness of taking inhaled medication associated to respiratory diseases (Easy Breathie); a highly specialized gene editing service done by scientists for scientists (GeneTagus); and the only diet available worldwide for rearing malaria mosquitoes, that do not require blood and can contribute to the global efforts towards the eradication of this disease (BloodLess). The program culminated with a final presentation of the developed solutions developed to a renowned panel of national and international specialistas and venture capitalists and specialists, namely: Daniela Couto (Partner, Biogeneration Ventures), Ricardo Perdigão Henrique (CEO, Bionova Capital) , Duarte Mineiro (Partner, Armilar Venture Partners) and David Braga Malta (Venture Partner, Vesalius Biocapital). The overall quality of the projects was highlighted by all those present in the session, who have mentioned that the potential to give rise to NOVA's next spin-offs is evident. Find out below the testimonies of the selected project promoters about the technologies they are developing, as well as about their participation in this program: Easy Breathie “We aim to empower asthmatic patients to better control their disease, but also to allow real-time monitoring by their assisting doctors, leading to more personalized healthcare delivery and closer relationship with the patient. To this end, we are developing the smart inhaler Easy Breathy, a medical device that turns the traditional inhaler of an asthmatic patient into a smart and connectable inhaler. Through a sensor adapted to the inhaler that the patient already uses, we are able to transmit useful and reliable information to a mobile application, which will help not only the patients to have a better quality of life, but also their doctors to better manage the disease and associated medication. This project results from a collaboration between students and researchers from NOVA University with backgrounds on computer science, biomedical engineering and medicine.   By participating in the Sciencepreneur Hands-on program we were able to mature and outline in more detail the value of our solution and what are the next steps to be taken both in terms of technology and business development, which would not be possible without the valuable help of our dedicated mentors. The sharing of experiences with everyone involved in the program was undoubtedly positive and very enriching.” GeneTagus “We are a research group working at CEDOC, Nova Medical School. Like hundreds of research groups around the world, we have adopted CRISPR-Cas as the preferred genetic editing technology for manipulating cell lines. We kind of stumbled on a real market need and quickly realized that we could offer a quality service at a very competitive price, meeting the needs of various research groups worldwide. Therefore, we launched our service in October 2019 and, even without a sales department, in September 2020 we had already reached 33 customers from 15 different countries, with revenues of 185 000 €.   The participation in this program was essential to structure and create the bases in order to make our service more professional and business oriented. As scientists, we often find very difficult to perceive the potential and economic value of our research activity. This program has equipped us with various tools that will allow us, among other things, to leverage our growth in the market. We highlight the excellence of everyone involved, from the mentors to the organizers, culminating in the group of experts of the jury - together, the feedback given by each one of them was the best support we could have had for the moment and the future.” BloodLess “Mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria, kill millions of people every year. To control the infections, we have to control the mosquito that transmits the disease. This requires the production of mosquitoes on a large scale, and females of the malaria-transmitting mosquito need to feed on blood to produce eggs and thus complete their life cycle. This leads to the need for high volumes of blood (human or human), for rearing mosquitoes on a very large scale. To respond to this need, we have developed an effective, blood-free artificial diet for breeding mosquitoes, which can contribute to the global effort to eliminate malaria. This artificial diet can be applied in remote locations where the disease is endemic (especially in Africa), allows the elimination of the use of animals for rearing mosquitoes, reduces the risk of accidental introduction of pathogenic organisms, the variability of batches, and has the potential to be used in innovative infection control applications worldwide.   We appreciate the immense support and the opportunity to discuss BloodLess from another perspective than the usual perspective of a scientist in the laboratory of IHMT NOVA. With participation in this program, we are certainly much more ahead than when we started and we highlight the numerous tips, the comprehensive and pragmatic vision of our mentor, as well as the comments of the experts in the final session that will certainly allow us to evolve.” If you want to apply for the next edition of Sciencepreneur Hands-on, you just need to have a technology or scientific breakthrough with the potential to be valued from an economic perspective. You can also take a look into the Sciencepreneur | The Basics course, to acquire basic skills in business modeling and value creation from research. Stay tuned and follow our social media, where the next opportunities will be announced in due course.

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The NOVA Spin-off Sea4Us was one of the 10 academic spin-offs considered most promising by the Observatory for the Valorization and Use of Scientific Knowledge in Portugal of the National Innovation Agency (ANI). (more…)

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Elvira Fortunato, is the winner of the European prize Horizon Impact Award 2020. INVISIBLE, the only Portuguese project among the 10 finalists, was distinguished today during the event “European Research and Innovation Days”. (more…)

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Mater Dynamics, a start-up founded by Tiago Cunha Reis, a former student at NOVA, developed the Stamply Box, a smart box to conserve perishable food and protect it from contamination, that was distinguished today as one of the winners of Santander X - Tomorrow Challenge. (more…)

Since June 2020, NOVA is an organisational member of the UIIN - University Industry Innovation Network. UIIN is an international knowledge leader on university-industry engagement, entrepreneurial & engaged universities, and knowledge transfer, dedicated to the future of higher education institutions and their impact on society. (more…)

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From November 19 to 23, NOVA University Lisbon welcomed a group of representatives from partner institutions of BLUES, a project in the areas of entrepreneuship and employability cofinanced by Erasmus+ programme. (more…)