News & Events

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NEWS

InnovPlantProtect (InPP) was present at the project launch meeting BioLivingLABS - Bioeconomia ao Serviço da Sustentabilidade dos Territórios do Interior (Bioeconomy at the Service of the Sustainability of Inland Territories), which took place on October 1st at the School of Agriculture of the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco (IPCB).

Funded by COMPETE 2023, the BioLivingLABS project, led by MORE CoLAB - Laboratório Colaborativo Montanhas de Investigação, in partnership with the InPP, the IPCB, from AQUAVALOR and the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB).

This project's mission is to add value to the low-density territories in the north, center and south of the country by demonstrating and economically boosting the work carried out by the partners - through the creation, demonstration and application of products, processes and services resulting from joint research.

Four living laboratories will be created (Living Labs) in the innovation hubs of Mirandela, Douro, Covilhã and Elvas, which they intend to promote:

  • the transfer of knowledge;
  • technology demonstration;
  • strategic roadmapping and
  • the protection of intellectual property.

BioLivingLABS strengthens the link between academia, business and society, driving innovation and sustainability.

Expected impact:
Over the course of 24 months, and with Living Labs dedicated to sectors such as olive groves and olive oil, vineyards and wine, fruit and cereals, legumes, among others, the project will contribute to:

  • increase regional competitiveness;
  • promote sustainable practices and
  • responding to the environmental, social and economic challenges facing inland territories.

More news about this new project soon.

On September 25, InnovPlantProtect (InPP) was present at the National Exhibition of Blue Bioeconomy Pact Projects, held at the Port of Leixões Cruise Terminal, for the exhibition session of the Algae Vertical project, led by PhytoBloom by Necton.

InPP, leader of sub-project 6 - Agriculture, was represented by department director Cristina Azevedo and executive director António Saraiva, who presented some of the new algae-based biosolutions that our team and partners are developing.

There were more than 300 participants and 80 entities, including companies, research centers and political decision-makers. The Opening Conference was attended by the Chairman of Inovamar's General and Supervisory Board, José Soares dos Santos, and round tables were held on the future of the blue economy in Portugal.

Algae Vertical explores the biotechnological potential of algae in sectors as diverse as food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and energy.

Find out more about the Algae Vertical Project here

InnovPlantProtect (InPP) recently received approval for an application submitted to COMPETE2030-2024-6 - Collective Actions - Transfer of scientific and technological knowledge - BioLivingLABS - Bioeconomy at the service of the sustainability of inland territories, led by MORE CoLAB - Laboratório Colaborativo Montanhas de Investigação, Associação, in partnership with the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB), the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco (IPCB) and AQUAVALOR.

BioLivingLABS aims to promote the economic valorization of research and development (R&D) results obtained by various institutions in the North, Center and Alentejo. To this end, it will create an experimental demonstration network, the so-called Living Labs, The project will be held in the innovation hubs of Mirandela, Douro, Covilhã and Elvas. In addition, demonstration actions, workshops, an inland innovation catalog and training on intellectual property protection will be developed with the aim of encouraging the incorporation of innovative solutions in the business sectors of these regions.

Scheduled to begin in October and lasting 24 months, the project has a total eligible investment of over 740,000 euros, financed by COMPETE2030 - Thematic Program for Innovation and Digital Transition. For InPP, this project is a strategic opportunity to strengthen its mission as a center for technology development and transfer, boosting the practical application of scientific knowledge to promote sustainable development.

This initiative confirms InPP's commitment to open and sustainable innovation, integrating science, technology and regional development to respond to the challenges and potential of the interior of the country.

EVENTS

Casa da História Judaica da Rainha da Fronteira wins a government award for actions and initiatives by local authorities to “save, protect and dignify human lives in Portugal in the face of contemporary threats and atrocities”.

A Elvas City Council won the first municipal award “Aristides de Sousa Mendes and other Portuguese saviors - Holocaust, universal values, humanism and justice”, in the category “Arts, Heritage and other Cultural Domains”, with the application of the House of Jewish History.

The honorary distinction, which is national in scope, was launched by the government in 2021. Among other things, it “aims to distinguish practices, programs, projects, symbols and material and immaterial works, which, inspired by memories and teachings arising from the Holocaust, and/or developed around universal values of humanism and justice, are factors of identification, aggregation and recognition by the respective communities, and valorization by differentiation, of localities and territories”.

The House of Jewish History is located at Rua dos Açougues, nº 4-6, in Elvas, and is open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10am to 6pm.

In addition to the diploma that will be presented to the Municipality of Elvas by the Directorate-General for Local Authorities, The government undertakes to publicize the winning project.

Elvas City Council is a founding member of CoLAB InnovPlantProtect, which is based in the city.

Image: Elvas City Council

InnovPlantProtect and the Municipality of Sabugal install sensors in the municipality's chestnut groves and launch an educational program to value the chestnut tree as a local natural capital.

The trees will communicate their state of health thanks to TreeTalker sensors. The project “Educate to know, protect and monitor chestnut trees through IoT technology”, which has been approved by the Environmental Fund, is led by InnovPlantProtect (InPP) and managed by the Sabugal Municipal Council (CMS).

The initiative is aimed at the sustainable management of chestnut trees, the enhancement of ecosystem services and protection against diseases, particularly ink disease, for which there is still no concrete solution. The project includes training courses for those currently and potentially responsible for the sustainable management and protection of chestnut trees: CMS and chestnut producers associated with CastCoa - Associação de Produtores de Castanha do Coa; and secondary school students from the Sabugal School Group.

The CMS and InPP team in Sabugal at the beginning of September 2021.

The novelty of the educational program, however, is that digital 4.0 technology, based on the “Internet of Things” (IoT), is being applied to support and add value to traditional teaching methods. The TreeTalker sensors, installed around the trunk, allow the phytosanitary conditions of the trees to be monitored in real time, detecting water consumption (through sap flow), biomass growth (diameter), stem humidity, absorbed solar radiation and the state of health of the leaves through spectral indices (light reflection).

Sabugal City Council has just publicize the project. Don't miss the newly released video, which highlights the importance of the chestnut tree to the livelihoods of local communities and the value of the souto ecosystem, and shows the team at work in the field. It's also a unique opportunity to see InPP researchers in action Manuel Simões, Márcio Almeida e Ilaria Marengo, director of Pest and Disease Monitoring and Diagnosis Department, and coordinator of this project.

Pedro Fevereiro in podcast version, as part of a partnership between CiB - Centro de Informação de Biotecnologia and TSF radio. In total, 5 Notes on Gene Editing were produced.

The executive director of InnovPlantProtect answers the question “Can gene editing increase agricultural production?” in this podcast, produced as part of a CiB / TSF partnership. The initiative resulted in 5 Notes on Gene Editing in food production and health. The recordings were broadcast by TSF during the week of October 4 to 8, 2021.

The challenge for 2050 is how to feed 10 million people without destroying the planet. This requires changes in food production. Pedro Fevereiro explains how gene editing can help in this process.

Listen too the other four podcasts, which feature:

Jorge Canhoto, researcher, head of the Plant Biotechnology Laboratory of the Functional Ecology Center of the University of Coimbra and president of CiB - Biotechnology Information Center

Margarida Oliveira, who leads the Plant Functional Genomics research group of the GPlantS - Plant Genomics under Stress unit at the Institute of Chemical and Biological Technology (ITQB NOVA).

Ana Sofia Coroadinha, professor at ITQB NOVA

Filipe Castro, researcher at the Interdisciplinary Center for Marine and Environmental Research, and professor at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto 

Feature image: CiB