Instituto Superior Técnico will install and renovate 12 laboratories dedicated to training, scientific research and knowledge transfer until 2027. This will be possible thanks to the co-funding of four million euros recently awarded by the Commission for Regional Development and Coordination of Lisbon and Tagus Valley (CCDR-LVT) for scientific infrastructures. The project titled ‘Técnico Flagship Labs’ won the highest amount awarded in this competition.
‘The co-funding from CCDR-LVT allows us to accelerate Técnico’s infrastructure investment programme. We are focusing on renovating and upgrading laboratories across three main areas, which are aligned with training, research, and knowledge transfer. This initiative involves professors and researchers from six different departments,” explains Rogério Colaço, the President of Instituto Superior Técnico.
Among the innovative developments is the creation of a new physics laboratory, designed as a collaborative space that integrates students from all study cycles into a context similar to scientific research. This laboratory serves as a pilot concept for Técnico’s Knowledge Laboratories, both for this project and for future initiatives. Additionally, a wind tunnel is being constructed for aerodynamic testing in the Aerospace laboratory. These laboratories are part of large-scale national and European scientific infrastructures, such as Laserlab-Europe.
The improved laboratory conditions also extend to students, with the renovation of spaces for laboratory classes. In the technology transfer sector, the improvement will also be done in LAIST and in laboratories located at Campus Tecnológico e Nuclear, in Loures, which respond to requests from national and regional authorities on issues such as radiation and air quality.
The project aims to install and strengthen laboratories in six departments (Department of Physics, Department of Chemical Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Engineering, Department Department of Mineral and Energy Resources Engineering), seven research units (Centro de Química Estrutural (CQE), Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias Nucleares (C2TN), Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences (iBB), Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores – Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias (INESC MN), Institute for Plasmas and Nuclear Fusion (IPFN), Institute for Systems and Robotics (ISR-Lisboa), Centro de Recursos Naturais e Ambiente (CERENA)), five service laboratories (Laboratory of Accelerators, ObservAR, Metrology Laboratory of Ionizing Radiation, Laboratory of Environmental Radioactivity and LAIST) and two campi (Alameda and CTN).
‘This integrated structure aims to improve the learning experience by fostering strong student involvement in scientific contexts, attracting and retaining top talent in STEM fields and strengthening the capabilities of Técnico laboratories in both scientific research and knowledge transfer’, summarises Luís Oliveira e Silva, a professor at Técnico, researcher at IPFN and the coordinator of the team that prepared the project submission.
