Science and Technology

Técnico becomes a partner of the New European Bauhaus initiative

This creative initiative has several partners and aims to find innovative solutions to complex societal problems through co-creation.

Técnico was selected by the European Commission to become one of the official partners of the New European Bauhaus (NEB) initiative. This creative initiative is a bridge between the world of science and technology and the world of art and culture. The coordinator of Técnico working group is professor Nuno Jardim Nunes, president of ITI/ LARSyS and Head of IST Department of Computer Science and Engineering (DEI).

“ITI’s activity at LARSyS is closely linked to innovation through design, that is, to the idea that technology by itself does not generate value for society or solve the main social problems, which are increasingly complex and interdependent”, says professor Nuno Jardim Nunes. “The New European Bauhaus triangle – aesthetics, sustainability and inclusion – is a perfect example of complex social problems that cannot be solved with science and technology alone, it is necessary to involve people through a cultural movement that promotes a new aesthetic aimed at sustainability”, he adds.

“Técnico is very well positioned to contribute to NEB’s technological solutions. We are very strong in areas such as digital technologies, mobility, new materials, energy, sustainability, circular economy, innovation, etc. This initiative will allow us to put this knowledge at the service of a new citizenship, in the context of a network created from the coastal urban environments and the challenges of our relationship with the sea”, highlights the Técnico professor. “Lisbon can be one of the first Lighthouse Cities of the NEB initiative at European level and Técnico can be one of the leading European academic institutions”, he added.

“A strategic partnership for Técnico and its research units”

“This is a strategic partnership for Técnico and its research units”, says the Vice-president of Técnico for Research and International Affairs, professor Fátima Montemor. “The New European Bauhaus is a creative and interdisciplinary initiative, which aims to create a more sustainable, more balanced and more inclusive future. This is a very important challenge for Técnico”, she stresses.

“I would like to highlight the effort of a group of researchers, namely professor Nuno Nunes, who prepared a solid and winning proposal that will bring us benefits”, says professor Fátima Montemor.

Bearing in mind the importance that the NEB has gained, many opportunities will come from this partnership. In addition to the main funding call, which will finance the five European networks, “other funding opportunities of great importance will be available for almost all Técnico research units”, says professor Nuno Jardim Nunes. “I am aware that several calls that require alignment with the NEB initiative already amount to more than €120M, such as digital technologies, energy, sustainability, culture and social inclusion”, he adds.

“I have no doubt that Técnico will contribute to the New European Bauhaus goals, particularly because our researchers are creative and innovative, always stepping up to the challenge and leading by example – and this is what distinguishes us”, says professor Fátima Montemor. “Técnico takes the lead in many research areas whose results have a strong impact on everyone’s life, either because they contribute to socio-economic development or because they help to solve global problems”, she stresses.

A New European Bauhaus linked to the Sea

The Bauhaus of the Seas reflects the desire of a creative team, which includes professor Nuno Jardim Nunes, to join efforts in pursuing NEB’s goals through a continental mobilization around “the first and most decisive global natural space: the sea.

The Bauhaus of the Seas aims to capitalise the unique characteristics of Lisbon as the only capital city along Europe’s Atlantic coast and create “a network linked to other emblematic coastal regions and cities such as Venice and Genoa, in Italy, Rotterdam and Antwerp, in the Rhine-Scheldt Delta, and Malmo and Copenhagen in the Oresund Strait”, explains professor Nuno Jardim Nunes.

According to the professor, “the selection of Técnico as an official partner of the NEB initiative is due to its involvement in one of the first truly disruptive and European thematic networks”.

Bauhaus of the Seas International conference

The partners of the NEB Initiative are organisations and other entities that act as inspiring promoters of the debates and ideas that will be developed through the movement. The 1st Bauhaus of the Seas international conference, which will take place on May 20, at the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT), is the first initiative promoted by Técnico and other partners.

“I hope this conference will address and aggregate key points around our relationship with the Sea and the potential to avoid repeating past mistakes, as well as to mobilize a new aesthetic for sustainable development”, says professor Nuno Jardim Nunes. “Portugal has a large maritime heritage and several islands that represent a unique ecosystem – the Macaronesia region, which consists of the Azores and Madeira, and also the Canaries and Cape Verde”, he adds.

“It is also very important that we build a real movement that involves more cities and not just coastal ones, because many of the problems cut across sectors”, points out professor Nuno Jardim Nunes.

“The Sea and the aesthetics of the sea in Portugal have a great historical and cultural weight, which are often related to the political burden of the colonial period and the dictatorship that used the sea (and the overseas) as an image of the Portuguese imperialism”, says the Técnico professor. “We have to overcome this historical complex of our relationship with the Sea so that it can truly become a strategic plan for the country and an asset for the consolidation of Portugal in the European and international context”.