
This project strengthens innovation in Portugal. By funding creative solutions for contemporary challenges, it promotes closer ties between scientific research and society.
The Municipality of Oeiras was once again at the forefront of innovation, announcing the winners for the second edition of the InnOValley Proof of Concept Fund (IOV PoC). The ceremony to announce the winning projects took place on April 12 at the Aciprestes Palace (Marquês de Pombal Foundation) and it was broadcast on the Facebook page of the Municipality of Oeiras.
This pioneering initiative in Portugal awards the most innovative and promising scientific projects that seek to solve the challenges faced by society. Vitor Cabral, researcher from the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, leads a project focused on a new generation of probiotics for the treatment of gut inflammation. Margarida Archer, from ITQB NOVA, leads an investigation on computationally engineered proteins for the diagnosis of emerging viruses such as Zika, for which no vaccine is yet available. Mónica Serrano, researcher at ITQB NOVA, leads the investigation on a nanoplatform for the detection of pathogens. Ana Pina, also from ITQB NOVA, leads a project related to the development of collagen-based biological batteries for cutaneous electronic applications. Finally, from ITQB NOVA as well, Maria Miragaia and her team are investigating a new class of precision antibiotics against multidrug-resistant pneumonia.
The second edition of the IOV PoC supported each of these projects with EUR 50,000 to confirm preliminary data and to obtain new intellectual and industrial property within a 12-month period. The submitted projects were evaluated and selected by a panel composed of eight members, including professionals with decades of international experience in the field of innovation and experts from academia and industry.
Shared between the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC) and the António Xavier Institute of Chemical and Biological Technology (ITQB), the InnOValley Proof of Concept Fund is an initiative of the Innovation Unit and the result of a partnership between these scientific institutions and the Municipality of Oeiras. The total funding for the 2nd edition is EUR 200,000. The municipality comes in with a financial contribution of EUR 160,000 and each of the scientific institutions with EUR 20,000.
Widely used in Europe and the United States but previously inexistent in Portugal, this model represents a significant advance in bringing science and society closer together, by using science to solve the challenges faced by the community. The InnOValley Proof of Concept Fund is thus an unprecedented opportunity for Portuguese researchers to present innovative ideas, allowing them to accelerate scientific projects and to attract interest from investors and industry.