João Moutinho and Sofia Bastos, from BUILT CoLAB, attended the event ‘7 years of CoLAB’s – Impacts and Perspectives’ which took place on 30 June in Lisbon.
The event, organised by FCoLAB, the Forum of Collaborative Laboratories, brought together the 41 Collaborative Laboratories, such as BUILT CoLAB, with the aim of reflecting on the impact of the work carried out by the different CoLABs over the last seven years, as well as addressing future prospects and identifying strategies to boost the contribution of scientific research to the economy and society.
At a time when the basic funding options for CoLABs are being discussed, this event is of the utmost importance. The construction sector, in particular, needs more investment in innovation and the BUILT CoLAB. It was therefore very important to hold this event to raise this important issue, which is urgent and of the utmost strategic importance.
To this end, there were several speeches and moments of debate, which brought together experts from the Portuguese innovation ecosystem, leaders from different sectors, and representatives from public and private organisations. These included the Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Fernando Alexandre, Manuel Heitor, from the IN+ Centre for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research and former Minister of Science and Innovation, and António Grilo, President of ANI, among others.
A moment of dialogue and networking between different agents of science and innovation in Portugal, demonstrating the importance of these Collaborative Laboratories, which already bring together more than 1,300 highly qualified professionals and around 300 associates from public and private organisations.
