Until the end of 2025, NOVA University Lisbon will host five young professionals under the Pan-European Seal Young Professionals Programme, promoted by the European Patent Office (EPO). This initiative aims to provide practical, high-level experience to young European talents in the fields of intellectual property (IP) and knowledge transfer.
NOVA has been actively involved in this programme, contributing not only as a host institution but also by supporting the pre-selection of its own students, who join this European network of excellence every year.
The five professionals now seconded to NOVA will be placed across different units: two at the Rectorate, through the NOVA Impact office, one at FCT NOVA, one at ITQB NOVA and another at NMS. During their secondment, which is set to run from October to December 2025, these young professionals will engage in various activities related to IP management, innovation, and the valorisation of the knowledge generated at NOVA.
Their work will include identifying projects and researchers with potential for IP protection, supporting the management and valorisation of NOVA’s IP portfolio, strengthening connections between researchers and industry, assisting in the creation of spin-offs and the negotiation of technologies, and contributing to the optimisation of internal processes and the refinement of performance indicators in the field of knowledge transfer.
This collaboration reinforces NOVA’s commitment to creating social and economic value through scientific research, while also strengthening its internal capacity in innovation and entrepreneurship and deepening its ties with leading organisations in the field of intellectual property. Through this initiative, NOVA consolidates its position as a European reference university in knowledge valorisation and in supporting young talents who seek to expand their skills and transform ideas into real societal impact.