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10 April 2026

Patents: from scientific performance to rankings

Patents: from scientific performance to rankings

On 9 April 2026, the University of Aveiro hosted the session “Patents: from scientific performance to rankings”, organized by UAcoopera within the UA Transfer 2.0 programme. The event gathered inventors, institutional stakeholders and patent agents to discuss the role of intellectual property protection as a strategic indicator of research performance and innovation.

The programme included presentations on the European Patent Office (EPO) Technology Dashboard by Ana Trindade Fonseca, coordinator of UAcoopera, and the Inventa Barometer by Vitor Moreira from Inventa, followed by a roundtable dedicated to the importance of protecting research and development results. The discussion brought together experts from across the University of Aveiro, including representatives from CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials and the Department of Chemistry.

During the debate, João Coutinho (Director of CICECO) emphasized that patenting has long been recognized internally as a valued output. He added that "internal incentives, combined with strong collaboration between multidisciplinary teams and industry partners, have contributed to the growing culture of intellectual property protection at the University of Aveiro". He also highlighted the increasing professionalization of the patent process system through specialized support structures, such as UAcoopera, that assist inventors not only in filing patents but also in licensing them.

Armando Silvestre (Director of the Department of Chemistry) stressed that successful patent activity is often the result of a solid foundation in fundamental research. "While many patent peaks are linked to large applied projects with industry, these outcomes are only possible because companies trust the scientific excellence developed through long term fundamental investigation”, said Silvestre. “This interaction between basic science and applied collaboration strengthens the potential for technology transfer, entrepreneurship, and job creation”.

From a complementary perspective, Mara Freire (patent inventor, member of CICECO and of the Department of Chemistry) highlighted the importance of identifying technologies with real market potential. “The protection and licensing of innovations require careful evaluation of competitiveness, demand, and potential market. The growing role of international collaboration is also key”, added Freire. She concluded that “there is a strategical space for patents to emerge through global research networks.”

Overall, the session reinforced the importance of integrating fundamental research, industry collaboration, identification of innovation, and institutional support structures to enhance the impact of scientific discoveries and strengthen the innovation ecosystem of the University of Aveiro.

See the photos of the event here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/CxNpYpn3wcLmPMx89

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