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FCT NOVA presented in the 2017 edition of COHiTEC

14-07-2017

FCT NOVA presented in the 2017 edition of COHiTEC

This year FCT NOVA was present with two teams at the COHiTEC technologies marketing and valorisation program, each one accompanied by management students from the NOVA School of Business and Economics. 

Together they embarked on a transformative journey of their research projects, following the COHiTEC program foundations: “Turning Science into Business”. This program, which exists for some years in Portugal, helps technologies developed in universities to take them one step closer to the market.

For 18 intensive weeks, the selected teams are encouraged to step out of their comfort zone and look at their technologies in a different way, evolving them into potential product concepts or even services, already presenting consistent business model proposals.

Last 11th of July, the exciting final session of the team's projects was held at the Rectory of the NOVA University in Lisbon. FCT NOVA once again presented two new projects, this time by researchers from CENIMAT, i3N, and the Department of Chemistry.

Marta Corvo gave voice to the GENEIS project, along with Coro Echeverria and Susete Fernandes from CENIMAT, i3N, and Management student Laura Coelho. This team proposes a solution for the development of safer rechargeable batteries and of greater durability. Marta Corvo later shared that "this experience makes me feel the responsibility of my research to impact society ... to dedicate our time (to research) and to know that other people can use it, not only gives us pleasure during the research phase but also we know that society will have something back. This is for me the great change. Though I thought about it, I thought it was something far away. Not now, I think it's within our reach, if we will turn our research into something that has that real impact. "

Krasimira Petrova, a researcher with the Chemistry Department, presented with her team consisting of researcher Luís Filipe and Management student Pedro Pereira, a new highly efficient and sustainable technology for the production of Veronix-Ox, a natural anti-oxidant, anti-oxidant -bacterial and anti-fungicide. Krasimira stated that "this experience made me realize how the business world works, something that I did not know at all and also made me realize better how we should communicate our research." Already the young researcher Luís Filipe conveyed that this experience "has given me a lot of maturity both in scientific and in communication. Learning how to communicate with people, with the general public, I think this is fundamental for a scientist, since the work of a scientist also goes through the disclosure. "

 Although the program has come to an end, the final words of FCT NOVA researchers are common, they have all gained even more tools to transfer their technologies to society and come to better understanding of the business world.