From 11 to 14 November, the University of Minho (UMinho) held the 2nd edition of the ‘UMinho Research and Innovation Open Days’ at its Gualtar campus in Braga, an event that showcases the best of the research and innovation carried out at the institution and promotes dialogue between academia, industry and society.
Over four days, the programme brought together 13 sessions, which included presentations by master’s and doctoral students and early-career researchers, the dissemination of international research projects led by UMinho researchers, four round tables with national and international experts on the current and future challenges of Research and Innovation, and five thematic workshops open to the community.
The School of Engineering was represented at various points in this programme, notably by alumnus Gil Sousa, founder of ESI Robotics, who participated in the round table discussion “Digital Transformation and Collaborative Innovation: Connecting Academia and Industry‘, by Paula Varandas Ferreira, director of ALGORITMI, in the round table ’Decarbonisation and a Just Climate Transition: Technological and Social Challenges‘, by Eugénio Campos Ferreira, researcher at CEB, who moderated the round table ’Open Science Support Services at UMinho: Use Cases and Practical Demonstrations, by Paulo Ramísio, President of TecMinho and researcher at CTAC, and António Vicente, President of EEUM, in the round table discussion “Research Culture, Careers and Security: Safeguarding the Future of Global Science”, among several other EEUM members who presented summaries of their work during these open days.
The event kicked off on 11 November with an opening session chaired by Rui Vieira de Castro, Rector of UMinho, and also featuring Sandra Paiva, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation. This was followed by a round table discussion entitled ‘Digital Transformation and Collaborative Innovation: Connecting Academia and Industry’, with representatives from industry, COTEC and the National Innovation Agency. The second day, 12 November, was dedicated to the new generation of scientists, with the ‘UMinho Graduate & Postdoctoral Research Flash Talks,’ where 10 young researchers presented their work in three-minute oral presentations, selected from among the abstracts submitted.
On 13 and 14 November, the focus was on scientific culture, careers, safety and academic leadership, with workshops led by renowned experts such as Robert Harris (Karolinska Institutet, Sweden) and Jorge Araújo (Team Work). The sessions also included debates on various other topics such as ‘Open Science Support Services at UMinho,’ ‘Public Procurement: challenges, opportunities, and best practices, especially in the context of the PRR,’ and ‘Image Analysis in the Age of AI: Reflections and ImageJ Highlights.’ The round table ‘Research Culture, Careers and Security: Safeguarding the Future of Global Science’ brought to the discussion crucial topics on the future of science, with representatives from FCT, INL, and eTecMinho.
The event ended on 14 November with the round table discussion “New Global Challenges and Opportunities in Research and Innovation: Strengthening Cooperation and Science Diplomacy”, which included representatives from COMPETE2030, the National Monitoring Committee for the PRR and CCDR-Norte.
The closing session at 6 pm was chaired by Rui Vieira de Castro, rector of UMinho, and featured Sandra Paiva, vice-rector of the institution.
