‘UC Mobilising Portugal’: Academia and Business on the Road to Innovation

The University of Coimbra (UC) hosted the event ‘UC Mobilising Portugal’, [UC a Mobilizar Portugal], an initiative aimed at promoting dialogue between the scientific community and various public and private stakeholders. The event, held on the 13^th of February at the UC, focused on the Mobilising Agendas under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) in key areas such as energy, mobility, new production, sustainability, health, space and digital.

According to Nuno Mendonça, UC vice-rector for Innovation, Business relations, and Employability, the event's purpose was to provide an update on the work carried out under the 19 Mobilising Agendas.

"We are halfway through the programme, so we wanted to provide an update on the work done so far, while also demonstrating its value to companies and how it can be maximised through better coordination between researchers," he said, emphasising that the event was not only about presenting results but also about fostering future collaborations. "This is a strategic moment to review what we have already done and how it can impact the next programmes, especially in the context of PT2030," he concluded.

The meeting reaffirmed the University of Coimbra's commitment to innovation and building bridges between academia and industry, with around 400 UC researchers, fellows and technicians in attendance. "We want to continue to build an even more solid future in the joint work between our researchers and companies," concluded Mendonça.

The President of the "Recover Portugal" Mission Structure, Fernando Alfaiate also attended the event, where he detailed the updated plan, submitted to the European Commission earlier this month. “The proposal maintains the overall allocation of the RRP at 22.2 billion euros, with an adjustment of the allocated investments. Projects deemed unfeasible within the deadline can be reallocated by the mission structure, which thus foresees the reallocation of 1.483 billion euros, 60% of which will go to health, business and science”.

The Rector of the University of Coimbra, Amílcar Falcão, concluded the meeting by stating that the University of Coimbra has been "doing a great job in implementing the funds granted under the Mobilising Agendas of the Recovery and Resilience Plan", adding that "we have already implemented about two-thirds of what was planned and the objectives will be achieved within the one-and-a-half-year defined deadline".

Amílcar Falcão gave the example of work carried out on student residences to improve energy efficiency and accessibility. The project originally covered four residences, but the University of Coimbra's good performance created a financial opportunity that allowed a fifth to be included.

"This is a positive signal we have conveyed to the RRP mission structure, which could lead to additional funding for UC during the RRP reprogramming, particularly for investment in scientific equipment."

Finally, Amílcar Falcão thanked the entire administration and all researchers for their efforts in ensuring the success of the Mobilising Agendas.

The University of Coimbra is involved in 19 Mobilising Agendas, with a total budget of 45 million euros.