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Open Application for CÓDIGOMAIS Innovation Prize

INL, in the framework of the project CÓDIGOMÁIS, is looking for an innovative project in the field of Health and Ageing to support, accelerate and launch it to the market. The application period for the CÓDIGOMÁIS Innovation Prize runs from 19th December 2017 until 25th January 2018 and any person or entity in the POCTEP region (North of Portugal and Galicia) can submit ideas and projects in the area of health and ageing through the CÓDIGOMÁIS website. The best project will be selected by the jury formed by representatives of the project’s beneficiaries, representatives of the responsible entities for health management in the POCTEP region, and renowned experts in the areas of health and ageing. The team selected will benefit from a prize of fifty thousand euros (€50,000.00) in-kind contribution to be used in services related with the implementation of the Project, consisting of Mentoring support, marketplace (website and catalogue/brochure), financial support and consultancy. For more information please visit CÓDIGOMÁIS website.

NMP-REG partners discuss policies to include nanotech in manufacturing

Norte Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR-N) and the INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory organized the third NMP-REG regional stakeholder group meeting, on 19th September, at the premises of CCDR-N, in Porto (Portugal). This meeting gathered stakeholders from the regional scientific and technological system, clusters and competitiveness poles and entities from the public sector. The main focus of the meeting was the identification and discussion on potential policy improvements in order to increase NMP adoption by manufacturing in Norte Region. Stakeholders took a very active role in this meeting and provided many inputs. This stakeholder meeting also aimed to discuss the project state of the art.

CÓDIGOMAIS – A new Innovation Ecosystem in Health for Galicia and North of Portugal

CÓDIGOMÁIS is a project aiming at fostering the creation of a cross-border innovation ecosystem in the area of cooperation Galicia-North of Portugal, open to all key regional stakeholders and with a strong international orientation. Nine partners from across North of Portugal and Galicia are working together to increase the market-oriented RTD in health, to promote the information flow on the needs and demand of technological solutions within the cooperation area and to foster cooperation between research centres, regional administration, companies and end-users. Kicked-off on June 1st, CÓDIGOMÁIS will run for 4 years with a budget over €2,2M co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The initiative is led by ACIS – Axencia Galega para Xestion do Coñecemento en Saude (Spain) and brings together other eight key regional players in the health cluster: INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (Portugal), UVIGO – Universidade de Vigo (Spain), USC – Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (Spain), CSG – Cluster Saúde de Galícia (Spain), BIOGA – Cluster Tecnolóxico Empresarial das Ciencias da Vida (Spain), HCP – Health Cluster Portugal (Portugal), FMUP – Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto (Portugal) and 2ca – Centro Clínico Académico Braga (Portugal).

Alliance Nano for Entrepreneurship

The International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), the Centre for Nanotechnology and Smart Materials (CeNTI), University of Minho and Startup Braga created an alliance to foster the development of entrepreneurship and businesses, based on nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is a key enabling technology with applications in all industrial and societal sectors. Even if the nanoscale per se is not visible to the human eye, the effects of the nanoscale govern easily accessible properties such as self-cleaning windows, optical effects, non-stainable fabrics, etc. Nanotechnology is present in all kind of modern electronic devices such as displays, computers, mobile devices, memories, various kinds of sensors and Internet-of-things (IoT) related devices. “Without nanotechnology, we would not have had Facebook, Spotify and other modern IT-related services,” said Lars Montelius, Director General of INL. Read the full press release here.

INL and UMinho launch joint laboratory – the Quanta Lab

The INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory joined forces with the University of Minho to create a joint laboratory. The Quanta Lab is devoted to research and training on Quantum Materials and Quantum Technologies, two cutting edge research areas that address several of the most important and fundamental questions in Materials Science and Condensed Matter Physics, and hold the promise of a new wave of technological innovations that is known as the second quantum revolution. The creation of the new centre was officially announced on July 1, 2016. The Director-General of INL, Lars Montelius, and the Rector of the University of Minho, António Cunha, signed the agreement in a ceremony presided over by the Portuguese Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Manuel Heitor. On the occasion, the German physicist Prof. Jorg Wrachtrup (University of Stuttgart) delivered a colloquium on the topic “Quantum sensors: From basic science to prototypes”. “The field of quantum materials aims to explore the emergent properties, such as superconductivity, magnetism and exact quantisation of conductance, that arise in many systems as a result of competing interactions and also their so-called topological properties. Essential in this endeavour will be the collaboration between physicists, chemists, biologists, engineers, experimentalists, […]

The Urban Algae Folly project comes to its end

The Urban Algae Folly project has now come to its end. The Urban Algae Folly was installed in a collaborative project comprising the INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, the City of Braga, and the Foundation Francisco Manuel dos Santos. During the month of March, the live structure will be dismantled. Since November 17th 2015, the day of the inauguration, many people have visited the Praça da República, in the centre of Braga, to look at the Folly and to try to find out more about this live architecture. For over four months the Folly stirred the curiosity and attention of passers-by, locals and tourists alike. At first sight, each visitor was confronted with an alien object that later on motivated discussion and debate about science and sustainable development. To raise awareness about the project and increase its impact in education, the Center of Biological Engineering and the Center of Molecular and Environmental Biology from the University of Minho joined the project to support it with their invaluable expertise. The project ended with the Folly Week, a week of open classes that involved students from six different high schools in Braga and closed with a dedicated Science Café. The school […]

INL filed the largest number of requests from Portugal for patents in 2015

The INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory filed 8 requests for Patents in 2015 to the EPO – European Patent Office. That makes INL the organisation in Portugal that filed the largest number of requests in 2015. “We have submitted several patents for the development of novel sensors, comprising different technologies, involving microfluidics and magnetoresistive sensors. We have also submitted four patents in the area of energy-related to batteries and solar cells”, advised Lars Montelius, Director-general of INL. The patent requests filed are technology patents. “They will be of value for companies that we engage with to strengthen and increase their competitiveness. One of INL’s most important business strategies is to license patents to companies. Some technologies may be explored by INL supported start-ups”, explained the director-general of INL. In 2016 INL expects to continue its strategy to license Intellectual Property and plans to file between 5 and 10 new requests for patents. The INL is an international research organisation dedicated to applied research in Nanotechnology, founded by the governments of Portugal and Spain. INL provides science and innovation and is key to translate knowledge into social and economic benefits through the exploration, deployment and articulation of nanotechnology. INL has […]

Decisions from the first “INL Summit – Scale Travels”

After two days of presentations and parallel sessions filled with interesting discussions the first INL Summit – Scale Travels ended with important decisions and the signing of three cooperation agreements. Soon, INL will initiate the setting up of a new regional coordination body between Galicia and Northern Portugal. The goal is to enable efficient coordination of strategic research and innovation activities among universities, research and technology organisations and regional authorities, including the Municipality of Braga. Company stakeholders and research institutes representatives invited to participate in round table discussion INL agreed to establish a cluster incorporating a novel and innovative methodology to foster the uptake of nanotechnology along the industrial value chains, in order to increase competitiveness and create a new job. On the first day, INL signed three agreements with regional entities, with the purpose to establish close cooperation regarding the promotion, identification, implementation, management and monitoring of actions in the field of nanotechnology and key enabling technologies in the Galician/Northern Region of Portugal.