The School of Engineering of the University of Minho (EEUM) organised the 3rd Inovar & Empreender Exhibition on 17 September, in the central hall of the Azurém campus in Guimarães. In addition to the exhibition of around 50 start-ups and interfaces linked to this academy, the programme included tributes, a gathering and the presentation of new projects and business ideas.
The opening of the event featured an official visit to the stands by a delegation of representatives from academia, local authorities and industry. The exhibition brought together almost two dozen spin-offs and start-ups, namely CriamKnowledge, ESI – Engineering, Solutions and Innovation, KEEP SOLUTIONS, Sciencentris, To-Be-Green, NaturaMateria, OmniumAI – Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, NITextile – Network Innovation in Textile, BioSolve4All, Wellbeing Warrior, Ooze Nanotech, InvisibleLab, SpacEngineer, Chemitek, Zero Day Labs, IOTech, Pixartidea and B4Logic. These were joined by EPIC – Júnior Empresa de Engenharias da UMinho, IEEE UMinho Student Branch and Formula Student UMinho.
This edition also featured the Computer Graphics Centre/ZGDV, Waste Recovery Centre, Fibrenamics Institute, Polymer Engineering Innovation Hub and TecMinho interfaces, the DTx and Done Lab laboratories, and the Startup Braga, Set.Up Guimarães, MadeIn Famalicão, Start Esposende and StartPoint AAUM incubators.
The innovation in this edition was the creation of a space for the presentation of some national projects from the PRR Mobilising Agendas, currently being implemented at the School of Engineering, namely: Be@t (Bioeconomy for Textiles and Clothing), Embalagem do Futuro, ATE – Aliança para a Transição Energética , GIATEX – Gestão Inteligente da Água na ITV , Lusitano , BioShoes4All , BioEconomia Azul , NewSpace Portugal, R2UT, NGS, PT Smart Retail, GreenAuto and INOV.AM. It should be noted that these are 13 of the 17 national projects of the PRR Mobilising Agendas being carried out at the UMinho School of Engineering. At the same time, there were also other projects such as NBSINFRA, coordinated by researcher Elisabete Freitas, from ISISE.
Still in the morning, with an audience that filled the Central Hall of the Azurém campus, professors Mário de Araújo and Jaime Ferreira da Silva were honoured for their contributions to TecMinho, UMinho’s university-business interface and one of the oldest in the country, which has been exemplary in technology transfer and entrepreneurship.
Next, the discussion ‘From idea to successful business’ brought together the heads of the start-ups Biosolve4All (biotechnology), SpaceEngineer (aerospace), OmniumAI (bioinformatics) and Wellbeing Warrior (digital economy), allowing for the sharing of experiences and the encouragement of entrepreneurship.
In the afternoon, Set.Up IN(dustry) was presented, an acceleration programme that supports the development of innovative ideas and their connection to industry in Guimarães, now in its third edition. The initiative, promoted by the Municipality of Guimarães, continues to challenge entrepreneurs to transform creative, technological or knowledge-intensive projects into successful businesses with a direct impact on the territory. To close, the ‘InvestMatch’ session allowed the presentation of some new business ideas and advanced research from the UMinho community, with the support of TecMinho.
In the words of the Interim President of the School of Engineering, Professor António Vicente, ‘EEUM has an innate connection to society and the transfer of knowledge to its economic and social fabric. This event aims to showcase the breadth and diversity of the areas of activity, products and services, both of the School and of its numerous partner entities, whose regional and national impact is undeniable’.
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