New Universidade Católica Project Boosts Knowledge Transfer in Health, Agri-food, and Technologies

DeepTech Transfer – Transfer and Valorization of DeepTech in Agri-food, Health, and Information Technologies is the new project of Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP), co-financed by the PORTUGAL2030 program, involving researchers and faculty from the Porto, Braga, and Viseu campuses.

Coordinated by the Research and Innovation Office (RIO) of Universidade Católica Portuguesa, its goal is to accelerate the transfer of scientific and technological knowledge in the areas of Agri-food Biotechnology, Health, and Information Technologies, with direct impact in the North and Center regions.

The DeepTech Transfer will strengthen the connection between academia and businesses, promoting the economic valorization of R&D results and the development of high-value solutions through activities, prototyping, scale-up, and the creation of tools for technological validation, patentability, and business modeling.

According to João Cortez, Director of RIO, “DeepTech Transfer is a strategic step in Universidade Católica’s mission to transform knowledge into impact, as this project not only creates stronger conditions for the valorization of scientific results but also fosters a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship oriented toward the real challenges of the North and Center regions.”

The project brings together several research centers of Universidade Católica, namely the Centre for Biotechnology and Fine Chemistry (CBQF), the Centre for Studies in Management and Economics (CEGE), the Interdisciplinary Health Research Centre (CIIS), and the Centre for Philosophical and Humanistic Studies (CEFH), leveraging the University’s strong presence in both the academic and business fabric of the region.

Among its structuring activities are the promotion of knowledge through initiatives that bring researchers and companies closer together, facilitating the alignment between innovation and market needs; support for technology transfer through the development of methodologies to improve the processes of economic valorization of research results; prototyping and scale-up through support for the design and acceleration of innovative solutions with potential market entry; the creation of a toolbox for the validation of business and technology models, with tools to accelerate the innovation pathway toward practical application; and a knowledge transfer competition, an initiative that will support technology-based and social projects, both within UCP and from other entities in the North and Center regions.

With a focus on the strategic domains defined by the National Strategy for Smart Specialization (ENEI) and by the RIS3 strategies of the North and Center regions, the DeepTech Transfer will contribute to addressing economic and societal challenges in health, biotechnology, food, green transition, and digital transformation.

The project is also aligned with the principles of circular economy, sustainability, digitalization, and Industry 4.0, promoting the training of new generations of professionals with robust skills and an entrepreneurial mindset.

The kick-off meeting of the project, which began in September 2025 and will run for two years, took place on September 9 at the Porto campus of Universidade Católica Portuguesa.