The provision of courses in the area of Artificial Intelligence for small and medium-sized companies and technical visits to various pilot projects under development at Técnico in the areas of computer science, physics, robotics and mechanics are some of the activities that Instituto Superior Técnico will be developing as part of its participation in the ATTRACT (Digital Innovation Hub for ArTificial InTelligence and High-PeRformAnce CompuTing) project. The project, which is funded by the Digital Europe Programme and the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), will be presented to companies, public administration and society in general on January 10, 2024, at the Palácio do Freixo in Porto.
The ATTRACT consortium joins the European Digital Innovation Hubs network and was created to help small and medium-sized companies and public administration in Portugal using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) in their modernisation process and the creation of new innovative value propositions. The project is being implemented by a consortium of 23 organisations, including Instituto Superior Técnico, covering the whole of Portugal, with competencies in teaching and innovation, technology transfer, linking with companies in all sectors of activity and providing computing infrastructure services.
“Técnico has a very horizontal management in this project, contributing to various working groups focused on training, supporting the creation of demonstration projects and providing technical and scientific consultancy in the two main areas: AI and HPC,” explains Ana Teresa Freitas, professor at Técnico, researcher at the Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores, Investigação e Desenvolvimento and responsible for Técnico’s participation in the project. An example of this will be the development, through the Técnico+ advanced training school, of courses in the area of AI for small and medium-sized companies at reduced costs of up to 87.5 per cent of their real value, and visits, in the areas of AI and HPC, for companies to Técnico’s infrastructures and pilot projects. “In this way, it will be possible to put the infrastructure and knowledge that exists at Técnico at the service of companies, so that they can develop innovative solutions with these new technologies much more quickly,” she explains.
Técnico coordinates the activities in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley (LVT) region. Two meetings were already held with the other organisations in the region’s consortium to coordinate contact with companies. “There is no main sector for supporting companies. All companies in the LVT region are invited to make use of the financial, knowledge, technical and technological support made available by the project”, she explains.
Developing value-added tools and solutions for start-ups and companies
Through the ATTRACT project, Técnico intends to “develop activities that are very much geared towards the companies in its partner network and startups network, to create moments, tools and solutions with a lot of added value for these companies. The project is designed so that collaboration with companies is focussed on their particular needs and not on a broad model of ‘one fits all’ solutions,” explains Ana Teresa Freitas. To this end, the ATTRACT project offers various highly subsidised services with a wide range of applications. The support available to companies can reduce service costs by up to 87.5 per cent. These services are:
- Support the design, development and validation of new technologies and solutions using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and/or High-Performance Computing (HPC)
- Demonstration and support for the testing and experimentation of AI and HPC technologies in laboratories, infrastructures and experimentation facilities already existing in the consortium members
- Support in drawing up studies on the suitability, and technical and commercial viability of AI and HPC systems
- Advanced training and mentoring for companies and professionals wishing to use AI and/or HPC
- Support for companies and public administration in strategic and business development, design and the search for national and European funding for innovation and investment projects
In January 2024, this digital innovation hub will publish a catalogue of all the services that will be available to companies and public administration.
The ATTRACT centre also intends to establish links with other centres in the European Digital Innovation network, to create synergies and opportunities for national companies at both national and European level.
The ATTRACT project runs until 2025 and its partners are research centres, universities, collaborative laboratories, two business associations and an innovation company. The partners met for the first time on 27 June at the ATTRACT project kick-off meeting.
