Overview
CISUC aims to achieve excellence in research, training of young researchers, disseminating research in high-impact venues, addressing societal needs, and enhancing Portugal’s competitiveness. We are officially ranked as an Excellent Portuguese research centre in the area of Computer Science and Information Technologies. Our research is at the vanguard and resulted in several technological advances that have improved the lives of people. Our interdisciplinarity promotes the collaboration of researchers on problems that affect today’s society.
Our Internal Organization comprises 6 research groups: Adaptive Computation, Cognitive and Media Systems, Evolutionary and complex Systems, Information System, Laboratory Communications and Telematics, System and Software Engineering. Alongside this organizational approach, our research work can also be described as an intertwined puzzle, as portrayed in the figure below. At the bottom, the Theoretical and technological foundations layer is the foundation for all our research work, allowing us to develop systems and technologies that are, eventually, used in the real world.
CISUC'S ecosystem
CISUC counts with a strong and rich innovation ecosystem centred in Instituto Pedro Nunes (IPN), the UC technological knowledge transfer agency, in whose growth and maturity the Centre and its researchers have played a key role since the 90s. This ecosystem has already supported the creation and development of many spin-off companies originated from ideas generated at CISUC, with thousands of highly qualified jobs resulting from the process.
IPN works through R&TD in partnership, specialized training and consulting in scientific and technological knowledge. It operates a Laboratory of Information Technology and Systems (LIS) that offers the means both to lead CISUC results to TRL 3 and 4 and to bridge CISUC researchers with industry and other socio-economic actors.
IPN provides Innovation Management support to start-up tech companies. A very successful and awarded Business Incubator, with more than 200 created companies, provides support for start-ups in business planning and access to venture capital. A recent Accelerator (TechBis) offers softlanding, networking and internationalization services to scale up companies. The large cloud of tech companies in physical and virtual incubation/acceleration are key part of this ecosystem, providing the CISUC researchers opportunities of intervention in socially and economically relevant challenges
Finally, the symbiotic relationship with the Department of Informatics Engineering is vital for both partners, allowing CISUC to attract young researchers and participate in Advanced Training.