"It is not possible to produce quality science without an international framework"
Interview with José Mendonça | President of INESC Porto
You are the President of INESC Porto since 2005. What are the biggest challenges INESC Porto has been facing over the past few years given the roles the institution has played before?
When competing internationally by developing science, our commitment is to always present the social relevance and the potential economic impact of the results of our research projects. It is crucial to make sense of the usefulness, of the application, of what we do to give back what society invests in science.
Our position as an instrument of the University and the Polytechnic Institute of Porto brings us a world of challenges and opportunities; however, this requires work, creativity and even a sense of risk, because it is necessary to create new paths where they do not exist.
I have no doubt that this is the most difficult and heavy responsibility I took in my entire career, but it is also one that has brought me more excitement and the most rewarding because of the obvious impact of what we do and due to our ability to contribute to transforming the country’s social and economic fabric.
When you took office you said that one of your objectives was to "strengthen internationalisation at INESC Porto". Where do you think are the main opportunities for internationalisation, not only for the Institute, but also for the businesses in the sectors in which the institution operates?
It is not possible to produce quality science without an international framework. However, downstream of the R&D activities we develop, we also have applied research and technology transfer projects in partnership with businesses and other institutions wishing to absorb advanced knowledge so that they can innovate in their products, processes, services or business models.
We have already developed collaborative R&D contracts with many of the best national companies in areas such as energy, telecommunications, manufacturing industry, information systems, health, automation, transportation, as well as with municipalities, coordination commissions, hospitals and many other institutions.
"It is not possible to produce quality science without an international framework"
The results and experience gained in projects with R&D institutions and European companies have meanwhile opened the way for us to provide advanced R&D and consulting services at an international level in several European countries, and even in Brazil, the USA and others.
In Brazil, we have developed contractual and institutional partnerships with top universities and leading companies in the fields of energy, underwater robotics and industry. This created the conditions to advance to the launching, in partnership with leading universities, of INESC P&D Brazil (Research and Development), thus leveraging our internationalisation process.
INESC Porto has established itself as a reference model in the form of a university-industry relationship. What are the main factors contributing to this position?
From the beginning, our mission and positioning, and the fact that the institution hosts activities that integrate the complete value chain, contributed to this position.
Moreover, project teams include recruited researchers and engineers, and senior managers with extensive experience in science and industry application who are responsible for managing the projects. A research project by contract is not only a sophisticated and risky activity, but also involves delivering practical solutions, responding to well parameterised functional specifications, terms and costs. Finally, in our organisational and governance model, resources are organised in Units with critical mass that aggregate complementary skills in different scientific areas. This facilitates the creation of multidisciplinary project teams, which is a key requirement to address the complex problems of the real world.
In 2005, INESC Porto also aimed at "investing in new areas of knowledge and their technological application". Can you name some results?
The aim was to invest in new areas of knowledge that could be important in solving the great challenges of companies in the future.
There are examples of successful outcomes in different areas – microgrids, robots for surveillance or environmental monitoring, medical devices to support diagnosis or optimisation systems for manufacturing – as a result of advanced skills in computer science, new sensing materials, decision algorithms, etc.
Among the areas of competence at INESC Porto, which do you think are the most promising and strategic to Portugal, in the sense that they can help the country assert itself as a strategic player?
Firstly, the energy sector, in particular renewable energy, smart grids and electric mobility. With our natural resources, technological expertise and industrial capacity in this area, it would be a huge mistake if we wasted this unique opportunity. I'm talking about economic, social and environmental advantages in the short and medium terms. It's not "wishful thinking"; this is in the country’s best interests.
Secondly, the capacity of the manufacturing industry to compete internationally, from molds to automobile parts, clothing and footwear design, machines and even software and technology products in different niches. These are all tradable goods that can increase exports, thus contributing to the balance of our economy. The value chain has been expanding and we have added design and engineering to the ability to make manufacture products competitively.
Finally, the sea is an area with huge potential. Despite the size of our exclusive economic zone and scientific potential in many areas, from marine biology to fish farming, or even underwater robotics, etc., almost everything is to be done in terms of economic profitability.
"Over the last ten years, INESC Porto has launched ten technology-based spin-off companies that are inevitably born global, that is, from the moment they were born, they were designed to compete in international markets."
How do you see the future of the domestic industry in the context of economic difficulties that the country is now facing? Is the traditional industry capable of implementing the necessary changes to grow?
Companies that produce tradable goods and services for the international market may play an important role in their sectors and market niches leveraging on their abilities and skills. In order to do that, they must innovate, closely following – or even anticipating – the market trends.
For many, "the future has already begun". Many have already built new business models, incorporated technology, extended value chains in order to include the design (upstream) and distribution (downstream), and consolidated international networks of customers and suppliers. It may now be too late for those who didn´t. They may have to give way to other young, vigorous and creative companies.
Entrepreneurship is seen as a solution to rising levels of unemployment and INESC Porto also has objectives related to technology-based entrepreneurship. Can you summarise the institution’s contribution at that level?
Some cases emerge from research with relevant results and potential use but there are no companies on the market interested in adopting this technology and using its economic value. In those cases, the alternative is developing a new business around a vision of turning technology into new and valuable offers to the market. Over the last ten years, INESC Porto has launched ten technology-based spin-off companies that are inevitably born global, that is, from the moment they were born, they were designed to compete in international markets.
What is it you still want to conquer for INESC Porto while you’re president?
The aim is to consolidate now that we’ve doubled in size in the last five years. We want to consolidate the new governance model of the Associate Laboratory we coordinate, INESC TEC, which has over 600 researchers and extends to the University of Minho and to UTAD. Furthermore, we want to consolidate our internationalisation process, which is key to ensuring the future sustainability of the institution.
We also have the ambition of fully demonstrating by example that the role of institutions is crucial to maximising the value of the people. The real advances in science, and especially the value of knowledge and its transfer, require strategy, sustainability, investment, critical mass, multidisciplinarity, management and control of the value chain. And this is only possible with strong institutions, institutions which are agile and restless, institutions that, while coming from the university, help realise the enormous potential they have in favour of society.
About the contest
José Mendonça confirms the importance of initiatives such as the BES National Innovation Contest
It is difficult to find in our country many genuine examples of innovation with significant social and economic impact. Therefore, it is very important to make extended marketing of innovation as a mandatory condition for a company to be competitive through differentiation. The BES National Innovation Contest does that very well, namely through the partnership with the TSF radio station. Moreover, the seed capital is scarce in Portugal. And the contest responds to that. Other than the distinction and public recognition, the financial component of the prize becomes precious seed capital, offered with virtually no paperwork.
There are more prizes of the same type and all are welcome, but these two reasons make this initiative unique in Portugal.
Diário Económico, 26 September 2012
