Monday, 7/31/2017
The 17th
edition of IdeaLab – Business Idea Laboratory – counted on the presentation of five
business ideas developed by students from the School of Engineering of the
University of Minho (EEUM). The session took place in the B-Lounge space of the
University’s Library, at the Campus of Azurém, in Guimarães.
During the commemoration of 17 editions of IdeaLab, TecMinho –
University Industry Association for Development, one of the UMinho’s interface,
organised the final session presentation of the business ideas on the 19th
July 2017. The aim was to disseminate the market impact this Laboratory had
since its creation in 2009, when it was implemented at the UMinho. This impact
refers not only to the creation of new companies but also as far as
entrepreneurs’ career is concerned. “At IdeaLab, more than 80% of the ideas participating
in this programme come from the results of our academy. However, I believe this
constitutes an alternative perspective to the academic programmes”, Helena
Moura, IdeaLab coordinator, highlighted. “This laboratory aims at providing
participants outside economics and management areas with tools and knowledge,
which is actually the added-value of this event”, she adds.
Seven
business ideas and 31 entrepreneurs related to several knowledge areas, such as
Communication and Advertising, Sustainable Development, Materials Engineering,
Electronics, Gastronomy and New Products and also Marketing and Tourism, were
presented. The entrepreneurs were challenged to show their business ideas in a
“elevator pitch” format to a panel of leading business figures invited by
TecMinho, who analysed, advised and enriched the presented ideas. The
panel counted on the presence of André Castro, from AIMinho, Gustavo Dias, from
Critical Materials, Nuno de Almeida, from Portugal Ventures, and Carlos
Corsino, from STRATIA Investments.
Five of the revealed entrepreneurial projects are being developed by
students of the EEUM:
- ADverywhere: ADverywhere is an innovative and versatile advertising
broadcast platform combined with intelligent technology, which aims to
implement intelligent systems across multiple Out-of-Home advertising models.
The project is being developed by Diogo Cruz, Fábio Fernandes, João Barbosa,
Luís Barros and Pedro Pires, students from the Integrated Master Programme in Industrial
Electronics and Computer Engineering;
- Ardósia Umbrellas: Ardósia Umbrellas aims at creating umbrellas that
incorporate innovative materials to make them unbreakable and able to remain
dry even on windy days and heavy rains. The project was drafted by Cláudia
Peixoto, Liliana Dias, Pedro Abreu and Sofia Rodrigues, students from the
Integrated Master Programme in Materials Engineering;
- Gen Mundus: Gen Mundus is a non-governmental development organisation
working in the area of development cooperation, emergency humanitarian aid and
education for development. It has four projects under development in Portugal
and the first international project will be launched in the city of Pedra
Badejo, in Cape Verde, during 2017. Juliana Vieira, Luís Miguel Silva, Rita
Reis and Rita Vieira, students from the Integrated Master Programme in Civil
Engineering, are responsible for this project;
- Nude: Nude is a bottle that allows the user to carry a liquid and a
snack in individual containers and in a single product. The team is constituted
by Carina Lopes and Clara Gonçalves, students from the Integrated Master
Programme in Materials Engineering, and Elsa Oliveira, Eva Silva and Mário
Vale, from the Integrated Master Programme in Polymer Engineering;
- SportyBioSense: SportyBioSense aims the development of a sensor system
to be integrated into a boxing bag to support martial arts training. The
project is being developed by António Leite and Yao Yu, students from the
Integrated Master Programme in Electronics Engineering, and Hélder Carvalho,
professor from the Department of Textile Engineering.
IdeaLab – Business Ideas Laboratory – supports the creation and
development of technological-based and/or intensive knowledge business ideas.
Apart from testing the market potential of their ideas, participants also have
the opportunity to assess their talent and entrepreneurial skills. IdeaLab
welcomes idea promoters (individually or in groups of up to 5 elements)
responsible for innovative business ideas which will be chosen after a
selection process.
+ info: http://www.tecminho.uminho.pt/showPage.php?url=emp_idealab.html&zid=497
