On 11 September, the CCG/ZGDV Institute and the Polytechnic University of Coimbra (UPCoimbra) formalised a strategic partnership to establish a new CCG/ZGDV hub on UPCoimbra’s campus at the Coimbra Institute of Engineering (ISEC). The agreement strengthens scientific and technological cooperation between the two institutions and enhances their capacity to address the challenges facing businesses, organisations and the region.
The framework agreement lays the foundations for collaboration in research and development, innovation, knowledge transfer and valorisation, advanced training and capacity building. Planned activities include joint research and innovation projects, applications to national and European funding programmes, curricular and professional placements, master’s dissertations and doctoral theses, and joint training initiatives.
Establishing the CCG/ZGDV hub at UPCoimbra will bring the two institutions’ teams closer together and combine their scientific and technological expertise, while strengthening links with the scientific, technological, and business ecosystem of Portugal’s Centro Region. The complementary strengths of CCG/ZGDV’s experience in digital and computational technologies and UPCoimbra’s expertise will support the development of multidisciplinary projects and the transfer of knowledge to businesses and society.
For Cândida Malça, Rector of the Polytechnic University of Coimbra, the agreement puts the institution’s vision for research and innovation into practice: “We want an increasingly open and collaborative University, with strong ties to the region, that can put our teams’ knowledge and expertise to work in solving real-world problems. The partnership with CCG/ZGDV strengthens this capacity and demonstrates that cooperation and complementary expertise enable us to increase the relevance and impact of our research.”
Ricardo J. Machado, President of CCG/ZGDV, also emphasises the strategic importance of strengthening ties with UPCoimbra and the Centro Region: “The establishment of this hub marks an important step in strengthening CCG/ZGDV’s presence within the national research and innovation ecosystem and its position as a Research and Technology Organisation operating nationwide. Our partnership with UPCoimbra enables us to combine complementary scientific and technological expertise, bring our applied research capabilities closer to businesses and organisations in the Centro Region, and create the conditions to jointly develop more ambitious projects, particularly within national and European research and innovation programmes.”
The agreement was signed on behalf of UPCoimbra by Cândida Malça and Ana Veloso, Rector and Vice-Rector respectively, and on behalf of CCG/ZGDV by Ricardo J. Machado, Chair of the Board of Directors, and Luís Magalhães, Member of the Board of Directors. The partnership was formalised on 11 September at Casa do Bispo, UPCoimbra’s headquarters, at a ceremony attended by Cândida Malça, Ana Veloso and Ricardo J. Machado.
The event also included working visits to the Coimbra Agriculture School (ESAC) and ISEC, along with meetings between the CCG/ZGDV team and UPCoimbra’s academic staff and researchers. These meetings identified complementary areas of expertise and specific opportunities for joint projects.
CCG/ZGDV is a private, non-profit organisation with more than 30 years of experience in applied research and innovation in digital and computational technologies. As a Research and Technology Organisation (RTO), it develops solutions that apply and transfer knowledge to address technological, economic and societal challenges.
Through this new hub, UPCoimbra and CCG/ZGDV are establishing a permanent framework for collaboration that connects scientific and technological expertise with businesses and the wider region, creating new opportunities for research and innovation projects and knowledge valorisation in the Centro Region.
