On May 18, Tec Labs celebrated its 37th anniversary with the event “37 Years of Innovation – The Right Temperature for Ideas to Grow”, bringing together researchers, entrepreneurs, students, startups, investors, and innovation ecosystem partners for an afternoon dedicated to entrepreneurship, scientific innovation, and collaboration. The event highlighted the unique connection between scientific research and entrepreneurial activity, showcasing the work developed by incubated startups and spin-offs from the Ciências ULisboa ecosystem and reinforcing the role of universities in transforming knowledge into real-world impact.
The celebration opened with a welcome session by Maria da Conceição Freitas, who reinforced the importance of fostering innovation, interdisciplinarity, and knowledge transfer within the academic environment.
This was followed by a talk from Nuno Araújo on the importance of innovation within a Faculty of Sciences and the challenges of bringing theoretical physics research closer to the market. His intervention reflected on the growing importance of creating bridges between academia and industry, encouraging researchers and students to explore the entrepreneurial potential of scientific knowledge.
The programme also featured Miguel Morgado, cofounder and CTO of Pollen, who shared insights into the realities of launching a hardware product on the market. Drawing from Pollen’s journey, he discussed product development, operational challenges, scaling processes, and the lessons learned while building an innovative technology company.
One of the highlights of the afternoon was the panel discussion “The Journey of Spin-offs: Key Challenges and Lessons Learned”, which brought together Fadhil Musa from Delox, Alysson Bessani from Vawlt, and Pedro Matos Soares from Phair-Earth. Representing startups at different stages of growth, the speakers reflected on the motivations that led them to create their spin-offs and shared the realities of transforming scientific research into viable businesses. Topics such as funding, market validation, regulation, technology development, and team building emerged as some of the main challenges faced throughout their entrepreneurial journeys. The discussion also explored the balance between maintaining scientific rigor and adapting to the fast pace of industry, as well as the transition from academic and research careers into entrepreneurial roles. The speakers shared the skills they developed along the way and reflected on the importance of stepping outside their comfort zones to bring scientific innovation closer to society.
The event concluded with a closing session delivered by Cecília Rodrigues, who highlighted the importance of strengthening collaboration between academia, research, and industry in order to foster innovation and generate long-term societal impact.
After the sessions in the auditorium, participants gathered for a networking moment with finger food and drinks, fostering informal conversations and new connections between academia, startups, and industry partners.
The celebration concluded with the traditional anniversary cake and a symbolic moment of singing “Happy Birthday” to Tec Labs, celebrating 37 years of innovation and collaboration.
Over the past 37 years, Tec Labs has established itself as an important bridge between science, technology, and entrepreneurship, supporting the development of innovative projects and contributing to the economic valorisation of scientific knowledge. The anniversary celebration reflected this mission and reinforced Tec Labs’ commitment to fostering innovation and supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs, researchers, and science-based startups.
