Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP) in Porto hosted a working session of the Think Tank established as part of the Regional Smart Specialisation Platform (PREI) for Life Sciences and Health, Bridges4Health – Building Bridges for Future Health, funded by the NORTE 2030 Regional Programme and co-funded by the European Union.
Aligned with the Northern Region Smart Specialisation Strategy 2021–2027 (S3 Norte 2027), the platform aims to connect the regional Life Sciences and Health ecosystem, identify investment priorities and promote a joint strategy for innovation and regional development.
The Think Tank brings together representatives from healthcare institutions, research centres, universities, companies, professional associations, investors, and regulatory and decision-making bodies, fostering collaboration among the different stakeholders.
During the session, participants explored scientific, technological, and market trends, as well as key challenges and opportunities for collaboration. These discussions will help define strategic priorities and recommendations to strengthen innovation, institutional cooperation and the competitiveness of the Northern Region.
Bridges4Health seeks to bring academia, the healthcare system and the business sector closer together, fostering synergies, avoiding duplication of investment and facilitating access to competitive funding. It aims to accelerate the transfer of scientific knowledge into clinical practice and the market, supporting the development of solutions to current healthcare challenges.
The session was held with the collaboration of the Centre for Biotechnology and Fine Chemistry (CBQF) of the UCP, one of the organisations involved in the regional platform, alongside the Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (i3S) of the University of Porto, the Academic Clinical Center - Braga, Association (2CA-Braga), and the Unit for Applied Biomolecular Sciences (UCIBIO) of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto.
A second Think Tank session is planned to build on the initial discussions and develop concrete recommendations for the implementation of the platform.
