All I’s on the HQA® Program in Coimbra – Innovation, Insight, and International Investment
Entrepreneurs, researchers, and university officials were among those who congregated in Coimbra during the final week of February…
Entrepreneurs, researchers, and university officials were among those who congregated in Coimbra during the final week of February to discuss the future of Portugal’s innovation ecosystem. Co-hosted by Empowered Startups and the University of Coimbra, the highly anticipated event provoked compelling conversation and provided an excellent example of the depth of expertise, vision, and leadership that exists within Empowered’s extended network.
In both formal and informal discussions throughout the day, insightful opinions on topics ranging from investment in entrepreneurship to the role of the HQA® Program fueled compelling conversations, leaving participants invigorated and determined to contribute to an improved landscape of innovation in Portugal.
Empowering the Future of Innovation
Empowered Startups President, Chris Lennon, opened the day-long event with an aspirational address that highlighted the already more than 6.5 million euros of direct investment into research at Portuguese institutions as a result of the HQA® Program along with the expertise the accomplished founders the program introduces to Portugal’s university environment.
But as he spoke to the projected 50 million euros that investment will swell to by 2027, Lennon explained why the most important impacts of the HQA® Program will ultimately overshadow the initial financial element it delivers.
“I want people to talk about the number of grad students who worked on one of our HQA® projects and used that experience to leverage it to do something even more significant to further innovation in their own right.”
“I want people to highlight the number of former students working successfully in industry in Portugal, in the knowledge economy, that credit their experience working with the business leaders that have come to Portugal and to their former institution through the HQA® Program and credit them as having helped them successfully make the transition from their studies to working in industry.“
“I want to hear about the number of patents filed by professors that credit an HQA® project as an instigating factor in leading them down the journey to pursuing their patentable invention.”
“I want to hear about the innovation coming out of clusters, which we had a part in helping to establish by bringing a critical mass of projects, human capital, and expertise to a particular region or a particular institution.”
“And most importantly, I want people to talk about all the innovators, the investors, the business leaders active in Portugal, propping up and stimulating the economy that all first came here because of the HQA® Program. That is the broader vision of what we’re trying to do with the HQA® Program.“
Investing in Entrepreneurs
A versatile and accomplished panel described the current state of venture capital in Portugal while offering opinion on how it relates to startups and entrepreneurship in the country.
Pedro Ribeiro Santos, Managing Partner at Armilar, explained why Portugal’s startup environment operates with a global mindset but requires a mix of foreign and domestic capital investment given its relative size. He was quick to identify the advantages these startups derive from evolving in a smaller market, a point expanded on by Joana Branco, Innovation and Ecosystem Development Director at Biocant Park.
Branco emphasized the unwavering commitment shown by Portuguese researchers and technologists and the importance that commitment carries in attracting the attention of international investors like those in the HQA® Program. Pairing that dedication with the different perspectives these experienced entrepreneurs bring into Portugal’s ecosystem creates an opportunity for the startups to become successful, she illustrated.
Paulo Martins agreed with Branco’s opinion and confirmed he has seen firsthand the positive results of such collaboration. As Empowered Startups’ Incubation Manager in Portugal, Martins has helped facilitate the relationships between international entrepreneurs, university researchers, and the graduate students who benefit tremendously from the knowledge exchange they receive from the partnerships created by the HQA® Program, which can often lead to career opportunities.
Retaining Portuguese Talent
A trio of representatives from Portuguese universities stressed the importance of the HQA® Program both in enhancing the country’s research environment and for improving territorial cohesion in the European nation.
Hugo Barros, Innovation and Ecosystem Manager at the University of Algarve, described a system that for too long has been training its young innovators for the benefit of other countries. Without an infusion of investment and employment opportunities, Portugal’s young talent will leave the smaller university cities for either large urban centres or different nations all together. By establishing realistic career pathways in these communities through the types of innovative startups initiated by the HQA® Program, Portugal can “stop the drain” of talent it has been lamenting for decades said Barros.
Pedro Fonseca, Professor of Innovation and Project Manager at IP Guarda, underscored the significance of this issue in places like Guarda, which is grappling with the demographic challenge of an aging population. “You need the right conditions to stay in Guarda,” stated Fonseca and suggested the entrepreneurial ecosystem offers a different option for those finishing their studies.
The key to generating genuine interest in this enterprising pathway is altering the perception of entrepreneurship from that of a challenge to one of opportunity declared Luísa Carvalho, Vice President of IP Setúbal. And while it might be instinctive for universities and their respective municipalities to operate out of self-interest, Carvalho suggested that Portugal’s real strength lies in having its communities work together as a network for the greater benefit of each community and the country as a whole.
HQA® Founders Offer Insight
Following an entertaining lunch and networking session that included a live musical performance by “Estudantina Feminina de Coimbra da Secção de Fado da AAC”, an all-female ensemble of Coimbra students, a pair of panels anchored by entrepreneurs from the HQA® Program took centre stage.
Real Intellect on Artificial Intelligence
The first discussion revolved mainly around the subject of Artificial Intelligence, and its potential impacts on the future. American entrepreneurs, Michael Racki and Jim Wayner, who have initiated projects through the HQA® Program at IP Guarda and IP Leiria, respectively, engaged in a compelling conversation with Vasco Lopes, the CEO and co-founder of DeepNeuronic, and Penousal Machado, a Professor from the University of Coimbra.
Steeped in technological experience ranging from cybersecurity to deep learning to AI, the four participants offered qualified opinion on everything from the existential threat posed by artificial intelligence to how to harness the rapidly developing technology to unlock solutions for the betterment of the planet. The thought-provoking dialogue provided the audience with new viewpoints to consider as this technology continues to impact society to a greater extent.
Increasing Impact through the HQA® Program
The day’s final panel focused on the HQA® Program itself, with entrepreneurs and university representatives sharing their experiences and suggestions so as to make the impacts of the program even greater moving forward.
“My project would not exist with Empowered Startups,” stated Dr Jessica Boyatt, a Clinical Neurologist and Social Entrepreneur who has launched the innovative project “Apples to Apples” in Portugal through the HQA® Program. Boyatt clearly conveyed her belief in the program’s ability to improve learning and career opportunities for Portuguese students while also proposing improved communication strategies between entrepreneurs and partners at universities as a means of improving both efficiency and efficacy as projects progress.
Fellow entrepreneur Abdul Alim expanded that recommendation to include the entire network of universities and stakeholders throughout Portugal. A highly accomplished Development Management Professional who has devoted his career to humanitarian organizations, Alim recommended utilizing the expertise of HQA® founders across multiple higher education institutions in order to provide the greatest benefit possible to the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
His proposal connected related ideas from earlier panelists who highlighted the power of Empowered Startups’ partner network, a point accentuated by IP Santarém’s Rogério Palmeiro during an enthusiastic address during the day’s final panel.
The HQA® Program: An Essential Example
Some of the event’s final words were delivered by Nuno Mendonça, Vice Rector at the University of Coimbra, who directly endorsed the HQA® Program and its ability to enhance the future of Portugal on various levels.
“The opportunity that these types of projects, this program allows the Portuguese National Academies and research centers, it’s essential and is very, very important,” asserted Mendonça to the attentive onlookers.
“I strongly believe that the impacts of your investment in our research – not only in Coimbra research centers but also in other Portuguese institutions – will have its effects in the long term. At a national level, we lack this type of investment, and this is a way to show it. To show the government, to show the national authorities how to do it. How to do it efficiently and how to do it in a more assertive way.”
“This is a really good example and hopefully the national government will look at you and say, ‘Let’s try to follow this example and try to invest’.”
