On February 3, the Técnico Innovation Center hosted the Técnico Innovation Summit, an event dedicated to technology and the sharing of academic and business initiatives.

During the morning, the launch session of Lab2Market took place. This program, developed in collaboration with NTT Data and i-Deals, aims to enhance initiatives developed at Técnico that contribute to solving current societal challenges. In addition to the presentation of the program, the session featured Diogo Caetano, alumnus of the PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering and co-founder of Flash Rapid Diagnostics, a project focused on accelerating patient triage processes in order to help identify patients with antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The roundtable discussion addressed topics such as the scalability of developed products and long-term strategic planning, taking into account the needs of different sectors. Diogo Caetano emphasized the importance of engineers focusing on issues with social impact, enabling the development of applicable solutions that go beyond the production of academic knowledge through research.

Following the Lab2Market launch session, the main stage hosted the panel “From Research to Impact: Collaborative Innovation Models”, featuring João Maciel, alumnus of Electrical and Computer Engineering and current Executive Director of EDP’s New R&D Center for New Energy Technologies; Alexandra Vilela, President of COMPETE 2030; and Rita Moura, representative of the Ordem dos Engenheiros – Southern Region (OERS). Throughout the session, topics such as the impact of companies and public and private funding on the development and implementation of solutions were discussed.

João Maciel highlighted the importance of acquiring multidisciplinary skills and anticipating trends in order to remain competitive across different sectors, including the energy transition sector in which EDP operates. In this context, he drew attention to the current need for decarbonization and the adoption of scalable strategies.

Regarding challenges, João Maciel emphasized the intensity of work and the scale of infrastructure required, citing as an example the transition in Portugal from coal-fired power plants to solar parks, which require a greater number of grid connections. He also highlighted challenges related to implementation by clients, stating: “Our effort in innovation is much more than technology.” Additionally, he stressed the importance of reducing barriers between academia and industry.

The session concluded with a brief reflection on the use of artificial intelligence and its relationship with the pace of technological development, a topic that is transversal to both industry and academia.