Innovation, sustainability and regeneration will be highlighted at the 6th edition of the INSURE.Hub annual conference, which will take place on 28 and 29 October, at the Porto campus of the Portuguese Catholic University. Promoted by the Católica Porto School of Business and Economics and by the School of Biotechnology, in partnership with Planetiers New Generation, the conference brings together researchers, students, faculty, practitioners, and professionals from different sectors to discuss challenges and opportunities in these areas, according to a press release.
According to the same source, this year’s edition counts on the support of six companies and organizations, distributed across three sponsorship categories: Antas da Cunha Ecija, as Major Sponsor; KPMG and MDS, as Gold Sponsors; and Porto Ambiente and SOJA DE PORTUGAL, as Silver Sponsors. It also has the support of Sustainable Ventures.
Over two days, the conference proposes a multidisciplinary reflection on topics ranging from circular economy to business resilience, from technological innovation to international cooperation, reinforcing the role of science and collaboration between academia and industry in building responses to the environmental, economic and social challenges of the present.
“Sustainability challenges require a multidisciplinary approach and effective collaboration between academia and industry. INSURE.Hub creates a space for sharing and reflection that enables transforming scientific knowledge into solutions with impact on society and on the economy,” says João Pinto, director of the Católica Porto School of Business and Economics.
For Manuela Pintado, director of the Center for Biotechnology and Fine Chemistry at the School of Biotechnology of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (CBQF/ESB/UCP), “scientific research and innovation are fundamental to developing solutions that respond to environmental and social challenges. The articulation between different disciplines and partners allows accelerating the transfer of knowledge and promotes new approaches to sustainability and regeneration.”
António Vasconcelos, from Planetiers New Generation, highlights the importance of moving from knowledge to action: “sustainability requires a profound transformation in how we think about the economy, business and its relationship with society and the environment. It is essential to promote solutions and actively collaborate with other ecosystems, whether in Portugal and its territories, with the Iberian North and in the Atlantic corridor, a enormous opportunity for high-impact circular and regenerative projects, which the EU-Mercosur Agreement is now enabling.”
Over two days, the program includes sessions presenting research, discussion panels, conferences, masterclasses/workshops, and presentations of business cases, providing a space for sharing experiences and reflection on new approaches to sustainability.
On the first day, October 28, the presentation of scientific works takes place in the more academic component of the event, and a session showing how to develop and apply networking in practice. The Opening Conference “The Hidden and Unseen Cost of our Styling. The Impact of Circular Approach to Mitigate our Impacts” will be presented by Antonis Zorpas (Open University of Cyprus), one of the leading international experts in Circular Economy. This researcher will also participate in the panel “Circularity in the Fashion Industry”, which brings together Sara Rios Vieira (Antas da Cunha Ecija), and Carla Silva (head of the Chemistry and Biotechnology Department of CITEVE). The session will be moderated by Manuela Pintado (CBQF/ESB/UCP).
Transatlantic collaboration will be highlighted in the panel “Bridging Latin America & Europe: Transatlantic Collaboration between Technology Centres for Disruptive Sustainable Innovation”, with Luiggi Cavalcanti (SENAI CIMATEC), Alex Dias Carvalho (SENAI CIMATEC), Bernardo Ivo Cruz (askblue), Daniel Martins (Investe Piauí), and Manuela Pintado (CBQF/ESB/UCP). The session will be moderated by João Pinto (Director of Católica SBE), and João Amaral (expert in sustainable economic development). The panel will promote discussion on the role of technology centers in sustainable innovation and in cooperation between Europe and Latin America.
The program also includes the “Research and Knowledge Transfer Dialogues”, dedicated to climate and nature. Brian Henning, from Gonzaga University, in the United States, will participate in a session on resilience and regeneration in communities. Natacha Fontes (Board Member INIAV) will address resilience and regeneration in agriculture. Both sessions will be moderated by Wayne Visser, director of the Catholic Centre for Thriving Futures (CCTF) at the Portuguese Catholic University.
The relationship between human development, arts and music will be another topic of debate. The session features Patrícia Oliveira-Silva (researcher in psychology and neuroscience at the Faculty of Education and Psychology of the Catholic University), Samuel Quinto, Raluca Cibu-Buzac (online) and João Amaral. The moderation will be led by António Vasconcelos, from Planetiers New Generation, and Maria Lopes Cardoso, executive director of INSURE.Hub.
On the second day, 29 October, the conference continues with masterclasses/workshops on the influence of deep tech in impact measurement and in communication strategies, the collaboration between Europe and Latin America in the context of the EU-Mercosur agreement, business resilience and turning sustainability commitments into concrete action.
The international dimension of the initiative will be reinforced by the participation of Gunter Pauli, entrepreneur and founder of the Blue Economy concept, who will speak online about the joint creation of circular and regenerative investments capable of multiplying economic value in the territories. The expert will also participate in the panel “Enabling a New Wave of Transatlantic Collaboration to Regenerate Territories”, alongside Chris Langwallner (CEO and Co-founder, WhatIF F&I Pte Ltd) and Wayne Visser, as well as other Portuguese and Brazilian representatives.
The second day also includes the presentation of six practical cases of innovation, sustainability and regeneration: Antas da Cunha Ecija; Domus Social; TINTEX and the Associação Ajudar Moçambique; Porto Ambiente; and RAR. There will also be an update on the evolution of INSURE.Hub, with the presentation of very structural strategic partnerships, such as Antas da Cunha Ecija (an internationally awarded law firm), the Municipal Association of the Lands of Santa Maria (a pioneering territory in collaboration), Future-Fit Iberia (an alliance with Spanish partners and the foundation with the same name in the United Kingdom) and Sustainable Ventures (BR/PT, to establish an “Atlantic Corridor” with Brazil and triangulating with Africa). This is a unique feature of a collaborative event: the partners (co)organize conference sessions and commit to launching collaborative platforms in Portugal and in related territories (Iberian and Atlantic). An invitation will also be issued to conference participants and to the more than 100 members of INSURE.hub to join and contribute to impactful projects.
Lastly, a prize-giving ceremony and the closing of the conference with the awarding of the Career Achievement Award to Fernando Leite, of LIPOR.
INSURE.Hub is an initiative of the Portuguese Catholic University, through Católica Porto SBE and the School of Biotechnology, in partnership with Planetiers New Generation. Its aim is to mobilize academia and organizations for discussion and development of science-based solutions, with practical application and a strong ambition of positive impact.
Approximately 200 participants are expected on each day, “which will allow for one of the impacts that INSURE.Hub assigns the greatest meaning to: literacy, understanding and action driven by innovation for sustainability and regeneration,” say the mentors of INSURE.Hub.
Participation in the conference is free, subject to prior registration. The sessions take place in English.
