The Virtual Day @ Inovstone 4.0, held this Thursday, January 28, brought together partners and followers of Inovstone 4.0 project, of which Técnico is a partner. In total, more than a hundred participants joined the virtual seminar, and had the opportunity to learn more about the innovations of this sector. The Deputy Secretary of State for Economy, João Neves, and the president of the National Innovation Agency (ANI), Eduardo Maldonado, participated in the virtual event.

Professor Rodrigo Rodrigues president of IST Scientific Council (CC) and co-director of the CMU Portugal program highlighted the importance of the collaboration between business and academia. Although many of these projects are taking their first steps and so it is too early to talk about results, professor Rodrigo Rodrigues stressed that it was possible to show that “there are companies in Portugal that have very interesting problems to deal with, but capable to recognise a research problem, the state of the art and how highly innovative ideas can be applied in the industry context”.

Professor Rodrigo Rodrigues stressed the importance of placing doctorates at the service of the industry, which according to him it is also a challenge for Técnico in the future, which requires “rethinking the 3rd cycle”.

Eduardo Maldonado, president of ANI, highlighted “these mobilizing projects are the most important ones because they support a broad consortium of companies of a specific sector”. According to Eduardo Maldonado, and although this event marks the end of the project, “this is by no means the end of our work”, since he knows that the cluster will continue to develop innovative projects.

The president of ANI recalled that in 2020 Portugal was considered a “strongly innovative” country by the European Innovation Scoreboard 2020 and emphasized the “strong policy for support innovation that we have had and will continue to have”. The president of ANI also challenged the partners to invest “in R&D internationalisation”, namely through Horizon Europe.

Marta Peres, executive director at Portugal Mineral Resources, talked about the projects developed in recent years and left a message for the entities that invest in innovation: “keep investing because every euro that is spent in innovation (in our companies and universities) will add even more value”.

A consortium that promotes the recovery of the ornamental rocks sector and innovation

Agostinho da Silva, leader of the consortium and representative of Companhia de Equipamentos Industriais (CEI), made a retrospective until 2004, and showed the evolution of the ornamental rocks sector. “The Inovstone 4.0 project aimed to digitally integrate the ornamental rocks production chain, which resulted in 19 innovative solutions that are interlinked”, he said. “In general, we are guiding the sector in order to be able to communicate with the architecture and construction market which is mainly based on BIM [Building Information Model] platforms”, he added.

According to Agostinho da Silva, “these projects result in significant growth and this is the most important thing we can show you today. These technologies that resulted from projects are present in more than three hundred national companies and have been exported to 57 countries”.

The challenges ahead

The exchange of knowledge, the positive balance of the Inovstone 4.0 project and the challenges ahead, were some topics adressed by the participants.

The Técnico professor Maria João Pereira was the moderator of a panel focused on the digitization of this sector. Professor Andreia Dionísio, from the University of Évora, professor Carlos Capela and professor Carlos Rabadão, both from the Polytechnic of Leiria, were the invited speakers. The debate focused on the results of a study on the Impact of Digital Technologies on Productivity and Exports of the Sector, carried out under the Inovstone 4.0 project.

José Tribolet, retired professor at Técnico, participated in another panel moderated by the Técnico professor Jorge Martins. According to professor José Tribolet, the digital transformation “is not just computerizing”. “Companies and organizations must be seen as people because they are the ones who can change things and they have an ethical and moral responsibility. The digital transformation is putting the entire organisation working both in physical and virtual space, which implies involving people in this transformation”, he said.

Pedro Santos – Quercus and Marta Candeias, Director of the pre-award office at Instituto Superior Técnico participated in the last morning panel, which focused on the topic “The valorization of Mineral Resources, sustainability and Climate Transition”.

The future of the sector goes hand in hand with Academia

The Deputy Secretary of State for Economy stressed the importance of this type of projects “because they are the answer to collective problems and they are also collaborative responses that allow us to make significant advances in the sector and in companies”.

João Neves pointed out some of the challenges ahead, namely the need to reinforce the capacity for articulation between the economic development and the preservation of environmental values, which are a priority of the Portuguese government.

“I would like to thank all those who have been involved in this mobilizing project”, said the president of Técnico, professor Rogério Colaço, who also highlighted the importance of cooperation between innovation centers, companies and universities.

According to professor Rogério Colaço, “besides Research and Development (R&D), which is one of the most important things that occur to us when we think of a collaboration between Academia and industry, there are two other key points that can be explored by companies in this collaborative ecosystem: training of company staff and recruiting top quality employees”. “At Técnico, we are always available and willing to contribute in these three areas and in others that may be identified as necessary for the development of our companies and our country”, he added.

According to Miguel Goulão, president of Assimagra, “we only occupy 0.04% of the national territory. We only represent 0.08% of the total Portuguese companies, however we manage to add 0.32% to our economy. Imagine what we could do if we were given more territory”, he said.

The president of Assimagra also highlighted that exports reach one billion euros, of which 420 million in ornamental rocks. “And that’s why we are an important sector, which has to be invested in. I have no doubt that investment will bring results” he stressed.

Professor Pedro Amaral, vice president of Técnico for Operations and Enterprise Relations, talked about StoneCITI and its consolidation.

The virtual fair that was inaugurated during the event includes sixteen exhibition stands, where the participants could visit and learn more about different projects, watch videos and chat with representatives. The virtual fair will be open until February 8.