NOVA University Lisbon signed today in Aveiro a collaboration protocol with Altice Labs, the Altice Group's innovation center that has been dedicated for several decades to the development of advanced services in the area of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies).
The protocol, signed by the Vice-Rector, Professor Elvira Fortunato, on behalf of the Rector, Professor João Sàágua, reflects the alignment of the two institutions in the aim of transforming knowledge into value for society. For the Vice- Rector, the synergies that will result from this commitment to collaboration "will be highly beneficial for the training of our students, for scientific progress and for the improvement of the well-being of all."
The partnership recognizes the areas of Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Smart Cities, as areas of strategic interest, the importance of stimulating and rewarding merit in research, the benefits of exchanging experiences and knowledge through inter-institutional exchanges and the role that support for entrepreneurship has in creating value.
Committed to serving society through knowledge and innovation and contributing to the achievement of international sustainability agendas, NOVA is focused on deepening the connection with industry and companies that this collaboration is now developing.
Today's challenges have created the need to develop effective responses, based on an interdisciplinary and interinstitutional approach, so "the link between universities and companies, as incubators and transmitters of knowledge, is more than an opportunity, it is a fundamental requirement" says Professor Elvira Fortunato, adding “As a University oriented towards Research and Innovation, we are always available to participate in projects that create value.”
NOVA intends to turn its campuses into living laboratories for experimenting and creating products, mainly based on technology, from company initiatives, having recently launched the NOVA Smart Campus Living Lab, on Campolide Campus, with a technological infrastructure aimed at this end, and which is intended to be developed in the coming years with the involvement of major technological players, as well as from the social and cultural spheres.