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About

About

INESC TEC is a private non-profit research association, with Public Interest status, dedicated to scientific research and technological development, technology transfer, advanced consulting and training, and pre-incubation of new technology-based companies.

As an institution operating at the interface of the academic and business worlds, bringing closer together academia, companies, public administration, and society, INESC TEC typically applies the knowledge and results generated as part of its research in technology transfer projects, seeking value creation and immediate social relevance.

“Present in 6 sites in the cities of Porto, Braga and Vila Real, INESC TEC incorporates 13 R&D Centres”

The 13 R&D Centres of INESC TEC are structured in four thematic domains - Computer Science, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Networked Intelligent Systems, and Power and Energy.

INESC TEC hosts over 700 integrated researchers (about 350 PhDs), including staff researchers, researchers from Higher Education Institutions, grant holders and affiliated researchers. INESC TEC’s team also includes trainees, and technical and administrative support staff.

Mission

The mission of INESC TEC is to achieve advancement in science and technology and to enable science-based innovation through the transfer of new knowledge and technologies to industry, services and public administration.

Vision

INESC TEC vision is to be a leading Science and Technology Institution at international level, perceived as an important world player, in the domains of Computer Science, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Networked Intelligent Systems, and Power and Energy.

Values

Innovation excellence, People-centered, Research freedom, Cooperation, Social responsibility.

“International and Socially Relevant Science, with an Impact on Industry, Services and Exports.”

INESC TEC’s strategy is driven by a conceptual vision that encompasses the following axes:

  • Excellence in science, talent development, technology transfer and collaboration with industry
  • Full coverage of the knowledge-to-value chain
  • Multidisciplinarity
  • Scale, density, critical mass and integration
  • International visibility and presence

FCT-CIT-LOGOS

INESC TEC’s management and operational model implements the concept of the knowledge-to-value production chain, leading the research activity from knowledge generation to its valorisation through a mix of technology transfer processes, from the pure transfer of technology to collaborative development, advanced consulting and training, until the possible creation of spin-offs.

Structure

Institutional Structure

INESC TEC has a unique and differentiating management model, improved over its 35 years of history.

Reflecting its unique position between academia and industry, the management at INESC TEC carefully balances, in a hybrid model, the academic culture of scientific freedom and dialogue with a culture of efficiency and responsibility in management.

Therefore, great freedom is given to R&D Centres in order to define their own guidance and to conduct their activity, while giving a considerable individual freedom to each collaborator. This freedom is always matched with an interest in preserving the continuity of knowledge generation, ensuring a joint and coherent vision of the institution’s evolution, not reducing it to a mere aggregation of fragmented policies.

On the other hand, a culture of responsibility at all management levels is widely fostered, supported by professional services that inform, support and give account for the organisation and its activity.

Organograma
Associates

Associates

We conduct socially relevant research with our associates.

University of Porto

Associates

University of Porto

Polytechnic Institute of Porto

Associates

Polytechnic Institute of Porto

INESC

Associates

INESC

University of Minho

Associates

University of Minho

University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro

Associates

University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro

Partnerships with International Universities

We have partnerships of excellence with multidisciplinary teams.

CMU Portugal

Partnerships with International Universities

CMU Portugal

MIT Portugal

Partnerships with International Universities

MIT Portugal

UT Austin Portugal

Partnerships with International Universities

UT Austin Portugal

Participation in other entities

Participation in other entities

In order to promote knowledge and competence sharing, INESC TEC is currently a full member of more than fifty Associations, at national and international levels. In addition to the regular engagement in their activities, INESC TEC also actively participates in several Boards, Committees, and Working Groups, thus enhancing the gathering and sharing of knowledge with other leading experts in its fields of activity.

Furthermore, INESC TEC supports the launch of technology-based spin-offs expressly established to develop further and exploit intellectual property created by INESC TEC. Over the years, it has ensured the pre-incubation of new business projects or startups in a test concept, currently remaining with shareholding only in the most recent or under development spin-offs.

Get to know the entities:

6G-IA - 6G SMART NETWORKS AND SERVICES INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION

ACPMR - Associação Cluster Portugal Mineral Resources (CLUSTER)

ADEPORTO - Agência de Energia do Porto

ADRA - AI, DATA AND ROBOTICS ASSOCIATION

ADVID - ASSOCIAÇÃO PARA O DESENVOLVIMENTO DA VITICULTURA DURIENSE (CLUSTER) (COLAB)

AEDCP – Associação Portuguesa para o Cluster das Indústria Aeronáutica, do Espaço e da Defesa (CLUSTER)

AEF - the Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation

AEP - Associação Empresarial de Portugal

AIOTI - ALLIANCE FOR INTERNET OF THINGS INNOVATION

APDIO - Associação Portuguesa para o Desenvolvimento da Investigação Operacional

APGEI – ASSOCIAÇÃO PORTUGUESA DE GESTÃO E ENGENHARIA INDUSTRIAL

APICCAPS - Associação Portuguesa dos Industriais de Calçado, Componentes, Artigos de Pele e seus Sucedâneos (CLUSTER)

APVE - ASSOCIAÇÃO PORTUGUESA DO VEÍCULO ELÉCTRICO

AQUAVALOR - CENTRO DE VALORIZAÇÃO E TRANSFERÊNCIA DE TECNOLOGIA DA ÁGUA – ASSOCIAÇÃO (COLAB)

ASTP_Proton

ATE - ASSOCIAÇÃO ALIANÇA PARA A TRANSIÇÃO ENERGÉTICA

B2E ASSOCIAÇÃO PARA A BIOECONOMIA AZUL - LABORATÓRIO COLABORATIVO (COLAB)

BATPOWER - ASSOCIAÇÃO PORTUGUESA PARA O CLUSTER DAS BATERIAS (CLUSTER)

BDVA - BIG DATA VALUE ASSOCIATION

BUILT (ASSOCIAÇÃO BUILT COLAB – COLABORATIVE LABORATORY FOR THE FUTURE BUILT ENVIRONMENT)

Câmara de Comércio e Indústria Luso-Francesa (CCILF)

CENTRA - Collaborations to Enable Transnational Cyberinfrastructure Applications

CERVIM - CENTRE OF RESEARCH, STUDIES, SAFEGUARDING, COORDINATION AND PROMOTION OF MOUNTAIN VITICULTURE

Ciência Viva - Agência Nacional para a Cultura Científica e Tecnológica

CIGRÉ - International Council on Large Electric Systems

CITEVE - Centro Tecnológico das Indústrias Têxtil e do Vestuário de Portugal (CLUSTER)

CRESYM – COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH FOR ENERGY SYSTEM MODELING

DERlab - European Distributed Energy Resources Laboratories E. V.

EARTO - European Association of Research and Technology Organisations

EASTRO – European Association of Space Technology Research Organisations

EBRAINS AISBL

EERA - EUROPEAN ENERGY RESEARCH ALLIANCE

EES-UETP - Electric Energy Systems - University Enterprise Training Partnership

EFFRA - EUROPEAN FACTORIES OF THE FUTURE RESEARCH ASSOCIATION

EIT MANUFACTURING (KIC)

EIT RAW MATERIALS e. V. (KIC)

EPIC – EUROPEAN PHOTONICS INDUSTRY CONSORTIUM

ERCIM - European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics

ERMA (European Raw Materials Alliance)

EtherCAT Technology Group

ETSI - EUROPEAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS STANDARDS INSTITUTE

EuRobotics aisbl

FEEDINOV - ASSOCIAÇÃO PARA A INVESTIGAÇÃO E INOVAÇÃO EM NUTRIÇÃO E ALIMENTAÇÃO ANIMAL (COLAB)

ForestWISE – Associação para o Laboratório Colaborativo para a Gestão Integrada da Floresta e do Fogo (COLab)

FÓRUM OCEANO - Associação da Economia do Mar (CLUSTER)

FUNDAÇÃO AEP

Gaia-X - A Federated Secure Data Infrastructure

HEALTH CLUSTER PORTUGAL – Associação do Pólo de Competitividade da Saúde (CLUSTER)

HyLAB – Green Hydrogen Collaborative Laboratory

IDSA - International Data Spaces Association

IEA WIND - International Energy Agency - Task proposal Forecasting for Wind Energy

IEP - Instituto Electrotécnico Português

INESC P&D Brasil

ITS Portugal - Associação Portuguesa para a promoção de Sistemas e Serviços Inteligentes de Transporte

MOBINOV - Associação do Cluster Automóvel (CLUSTER)

PFP - Associação da Plataforma Ferroviária Portuguesa (CLUSTER)

PRODUTECH - Associação para as Tecnologias de Produção Sustentável (CLUSTER)

RAIL COLAB - COLLABORATIVE LABORATORY FOR THE FUTURE RAILWAY SYSTEM (COLAB)

RISC-V INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION

ROS-INDUSTRIAL CONSORTIUM EUROPE

Smart Energy Lab – Association (COLAB)

Smart Waste Portugal

SPR - Sociedade Portuguesa de Robótica

STICHTING SPRINT ROBOTICS COLLABORATIVE (THE SPRINT ROBOTICS COLLABORATIVE FOUNDATION)

TICE.PT - Associação para o Pólo das Tecnologias de Informação, Comunicação e Electrónica (CLUSTER)

VASCO DA GAMA COLAB - ENERGY STORAGE - ASSOCIAÇÃO (COLAB)

VORTEX - Associação para o Laboratório Colaborativo em Sistemas Ciber-Físicos e Ciber-Segurança (COLAB)

World Alliance for Efficient Solutions (WA4ES)

Institutional Documents
The Earthshot Prize

The Earthshot Prize

The Earthshot Prize is a global environmental prize and platform for impact, dedicated to finding and growing solutions that will repair our planet this decade. This platform supports innovators and leaders – it can be universities, charities, tech startups or even cities - that want to create a better world. The Earthshot Prize role? To spotlight, support and help these solutions to scale up!



Our institution is an Official Nominator of the EarthShot Prize. The official nominators are the ones who introduce the solutions to the EarthShot Prize. So, do you have a solution that meets the five earthshot goals for 2030? You just need to reach, so we can evaluate if we want to support your solution and submit it to be one of finalists.

  • Protect and restore nature 
  • Clean our air 
  • Revive our oceans 
  • Build a waste-free world 
  • Fix our climate 

We will favour solutions that are linked with the “Fix our climate” goal, since it is aligned with our Strategic Plan. Nonetheless, we will also evaluate solutions related to the other goals and will support them in case they are clearly associated with the type of research and development we do in our institution.

If you are interested in submitting your application and you want us to endorse your idea, you need to fill in this form:

Submit Your Idea

You cannot submit an idea directly to the Earthshot prize. You need to have a nominator behind this process.

To fill in our form, you need to do it until November 30, so we have time to evaluate the idea, give your feedback and respect the Earthshot Prize 2025 deadline of December 11.  

From January 2025, the screening and selection process will be conducted by the Earthshot Prize team.  

The award ceremony will take place in late 2025.

Nominations undergo a thorough assessment, leading to the selection of 15 Finalists whose solutions best address our five Earthshots. All 15 Finalists join our Fellowship Programme where they receive dedicated and tailored support. 

Then, Prince William and the Prize Council on this initiative select the five annual winners, who each are awarded one million pounds to scale their impact. Additionally, nominees may be considered for other opportunities, including events, technical assistance, features in reports, or inclusion in LaunchPad—our innovative finance platform.

Even though, English is the preferred language, you can also submit it in Portuguese. All nominations will be translated into English by the Earthshot prize team for screening and assessment process.

Selection criteria and priorities 

Please download our booklet with the mandatory, preferred and considered selection criteria and priorities. 

REPORTING CHANNEL

INESC TEC provides an electronic platform for reporting infringements or irregular conduct in three areas: Ethics, Harassment, and Corruption and Breaches of EU Law. The Reporting Channel is implemented on a secure platform. For anonymous reports you may want to use a new incognito window in the Tor browser.

MORE INFO

Where we Are

INESC TEC is composed of 13 R&D centres in five different locations (ISEP, FEUP, FCUP, UMinho and UTAD) and 2 special partnerships (IPB and U Aberta). Presently, its main sites are in the cities of Porto, Braga and Vila Real.

In 2012, INESC TEC’s organisational and science management model was exported to Brazil, and so INESC P&D Brasil (INESC R&D Brazil) was created. Its network already features over 13 universities, from 11 Brazilian states, whose goal is to produce science, transfer technology and create value in Brazil.

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