15 December 2025
NOVA Science & Innovation Day 2025
On 12 December, NOVA University Lisbon brought together researchers, students and partners to celebrate excellence in research and innovation at the NOVA Science & Innovation Day 2025, held at the NOVA Rectorate. The event highlighted the role of science in transforming society through the presentation of innovative projects, debates on Open Science, interdisciplinarity, and an Innovation Fair that showcased the strength of NOVA’s scientific and technological ecosystem.
“Commitment to science is not an option; it is the foundation of our mission,” emphasised Rector Paulo Pereira in the opening session, stressing that universities must remain spaces of intellectual freedom and curiosity, where new ideas can emerge. “Producing knowledge that benefits society as a whole is the vision that guides us towards the future we want to build,” he added.
The morning featured presentations of research projects led by NOVA researchers and a session dedicated to Open Science, with a special focus on the projects Re.Data and NOVA.ID-RDM-CC, which reinforce the importance of research data management. This was followed by a moment centred on interdisciplinary research, with the public announcement of the three winning projects of the Ignition Grants, an initiative in partnership with Fundação Santander Portugal.
“At NOVA, we believe we must always think about social impact”
In the afternoon, following the roundtable “FP10 and its implications for the national landscape of the new framework programme”, which brought together leading experts, came the award ceremony for the winners of the “Research Impact Narratives” challenge, which recognized exemplary projects for their contribution to society: 5 Awards and 5 Honorable Mentions, about which you can find more information here.”
The session dedicated to Innovation and Value Creation then showcased projects and spin-offs from the NOVA ecosystem, reinforcing the link between science and social impact – a message reiterated throughout the day.
First, by Cecília Roque, Vice-Rector for Research and Advanced Training, who highlighted “the creation of an empowered research ecosystem” and reminded that “people are our greatest treasure in driving research forward.” Then, by Isabel Rocha, Vice-Rector for Innovation, Value Creation and Global Affairs, who stressed: “At NOVA, we believe we must always think about social impact,” underlining the university’s progress: “Ten years ago, we barely had patents; today we are in the European Top 10 and among the Top 3 most entrepreneurial universities.”
The day concluded with the awarding of prizes for the best flash talks presented by PhD students, showcasing the next generation of scientists and innovators. At the same time, the Innovation Fair brought together proprietary technologies, specialised services and spin-offs, reflecting NOVA’s diversity and impact on the national scientific and economic landscape.