Transforming scientific innovative ideas into impact on society – this is the tradition of Lab2Market, an event that kicked off its 9th edition with an information session held on 21 January at the Civil Engineering Museum.
Lab2Market@Técnico is a free innovation accelerator programme designed by Técnico with the support of NTT-Data, to help participants turn research and innovative ideas into applicable solutions, promoting the creation of value and impact on society. During the programme, participants have access to specialised workshops, personalised mentoring and networking opportunities.
Pedro Amaral, the Vice-president of Técnico for Corporate Interface, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, opened the session by highlighting the programme’s crucial role in the development of Técnico’s innovation ecosystem. ‘Lab2Market is deeply connected to our origins’, he said. ‘We will have more and more initiatives at Técnico that will grow and evolve thanks to programmes like this, which create significant initial impact’, he promised, taking the opportunity to thank NTT Data and the I-deals team, for bringing this programme to life year after year.
Pedro Fonseca, Head of University Relations and Digital Upskill at NTT Data Portugal, emphasised the long-standing partnership with Técnico, highlighting ‘a decade of cooperation’ between the two institutions. He noted that ‘nothing lasts that long if it isn’t valuable to those involved’. At the end of his speech, he encouraged everyone present to embrace this experience, saying that ‘the programme is a unique opportunity to expand minds and apply knowledge beyond the laboratories’.
The event included testimonials from former participants, who shared the benefits and challenges of the programme. Vicente Garção, CEO and Founder of Lampsy, recalled the motivation that inspired him to attend Lab2Market@Técnico – ‘we had the idea, but we wanted to take it out of the lab’.
Ricardo Ferreira, from the FreshIST team, winner of the António Brandão de Vasconcelos Award in the previous edition, added that ‘our mentor set us the challenge of taking this technology to the market’ and that ‘Lab2Market taught us to sell it and maximise its impact on industry.’
These students also highlighted the advantages of the programme, noting how it effectively balanced intensity of activities with the time available for their research, as well as the invaluable connections provided by the mentors. After their testimonials they answered questions from the audience.
Applications for Lab2Market@Técnico closed on 3 February. The 2025 edition of the Lab2Market programme received 16 projects, the highest number in the programme’s history. The final pitch session will take place on 3 June 2025.
