DeepTech Transfer – Transfer and valorisation of DeepTech in Agri-food, Health and Information Technologies is the new project of the Portuguese Catholic University (UCP), co-financed by the PORTUGAL2030 programme, involving researchers and lecturers from the Porto, Braga and Viseu campuses.
Coordinated by the Research and Innovation Office (RIO) of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, it aims to accelerate the transfer of scientific and technological knowledge in the areas of Agri-Food Biotechnology, Health and Information Technologies, with a direct impact on the North and Centre regions.
DeepTech Transfer will strengthen the link between academia and businesses, promoting the economic value of R&D results and the development of high added-value solutions through promotional activities, support for prototyping, scale-up, and the creation of tools for technological, patentability and business validation.
For João Cortez, director of RIO, ‘DeepTech Transfer is a strategic step in the Catholic University's mission to transform knowledge into impact, as this project not only creates more solid conditions for the valorisation of scientific results, but also promotes a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship geared towards the real challenges of the North and Centre regions.’
The project mobilises several research centres at the Catholic University, namely the Centre for Biotechnology and Fine Chemistry (CBQF), the Centre for Management and Economics Studies (CEGE), the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Health (CIIS) and the Centre for Philosophical and Humanistic Studies (CEFH), taking advantage of the University's strong presence in the regional academic and business community.
Among the structuring activities, the following stand out: the promotion of knowledge: actions to bring researchers and companies closer together, facilitating the alignment between innovation and market needs; support for technology transfer: development of methodologies to improve the processes of economic valorisation of research results; prototyping and Scale-Up: support for the design and acceleration of innovative solutions with market entry potential; the creation of a toolbox for validating business and technology models: tools to accelerate the path of innovation to practical application; and a knowledge transfer competition: an initiative that will support technology- and social-based projects, both within UCP and from other entities in the North and Centre regions.
Focusing on the strategic areas defined by the National Strategy for Smart Specialisation (ENEI) and the RIS3 of the North and Centre regions, DeepTech Transfer will contribute to responding to economic and societal challenges in the areas of health, biotechnology, food, green and digital transition.
The project is also aligned with the principles of the circular economy, sustainability, digitalisation and Industry 4.0, promoting the training of new generations of professionals with robust skills and an entrepreneurial spirit.
The kick-off meeting for the project, which began in September 2025 and will run for two years, took place on 9 September at the Porto campus of the Portuguese Catholic University.
