Brief description of CRIA and the University of the Algarve

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The University of the Algarve (UAlg) is a young (forty years old) higher education public institution located in the southern region of Portugal. UAlg is located in four camps - three in Faro and one in Portimão.UAlg has around 750 permanent teaching and 450 research staff, evidencing a growing commitment towards R&D and Innovation.
The main research and teaching areas are: Earth and Marine Sciences, Health, Management and Tourism, Engineering and Technology and Social Sciences and Humanities.CRIA is the Division of Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer of the University of Algarve, aiming to promote relations between the university and the industry, increase the technology and knowledge transfer, support the establishment of new firms, generalize the use of industrial property rights mechanisms and developing technological infrastructures to enhance specific research fields in the Algarve.CRIA was born in 2003, from the need of creating a service to support the development of advanced business ideas and inventions born at the university that could migrate to the market.The intervention areas of CRIA are: Intellectual Property (IP) and Licensing Support, Commercialization and Technology Transfer, Entrepreneurship and Business Development, European Projects and Studies.

Activity indicators of CRIA in 2015:

Intellectual Property (IP) and Licensing Support

165 Inquiries: 138 from companies, 27 from UAlg researchers;
10 Patent applications ;
1 Patent granted;
40 Registrations of trademarks and logos: 35 from companies, 5 from UAlg researchers.

Commercialization and Technology Transfer

31 Business projects (released by companies) submitted to the Regional Operational Program Funding CRESC Algarve, call ‘Incentive System for Research and Technological Development). This represents an investment in R & D of approximately 5.8 million euros;
23 New projects of University-Business cooperation are being structured to be submitted;
Other results of University-Business cooperation: 1 catalog of competences of the University of Algarve, focus groups, innovation communities, meetings Science to Business (S2B), meetings Business to Business (B2B), dissemination seminars of cooperation programs University-Enterprise;
7 New licensing agreements for collaborative research (UAlg + regional companies);
11 New cooperation agreements with companies and relevant associations;
2 Additional cooperation agreements with companies incubated at the University of Algarve.

Entrepreneurship and Business Development

249 Inquiries from new entrepreneurs, businessmen, researchers, representatives of regional associations and UAlg students;
47 External requests - community liaison initiatives (lectures about Entrepreneurship, workshops, seminars, conventions and interviews, reaching more than 2.000 persons);
13 start-ups, in the fields of Tourism (31%), ICT (31%), Health Sciences (15%), Sea Sciences (15%), and Agro-food (8%);
UAlg Business Center (Incubator) - Improvement of infrastructure and equipment and increasing of the number of incubation spaces, for a total of 17 offices and 7 laboratories.

European Projects and Studies

51 Applications submitted to European cooperation programs (ERASMUS+, Interreg Europe Interreg MED, Interreg SUDOE, Interreg V-A Spain-Portugal, H2020, DG Enterprise and Industry);
6 EU projects approved and running (4 Erasmus +, 1 DG Enterprise and Industry, 1 H2020);
1 EU project approved by condition (Interreg Europe).
More than 74 million euros, ERDF around EUR 60 million, for the total of the submitted projects. Budget UAlg around EUR 8.5 M€, ERDF nearly 7 M€;
International partnerships with different types of organizations: universities, local authorities and local development agencies, chambers of commerce and business associations, technology centers;
These 51 European projects are in accordance with the areas of regional smart specialization identified in RIS3 Algarve: Agro-food (0,44 M€), Environment (0,7M€), Energy (1,07 M€), Sea (1,47 M€), Heritage and Culture (0,43 M€), Health and Well-being (0,43 M€), ICT (0,12 M€), Tourism (0,16 M€) and Cross-sectorial (3,69 M€), in a total of 8,5 M€;
European projects in accordance with the objectives of the University of Algarve and CRIA: 25 projects of Cooperation Networks, in a total of 3,8 M€; 8 projects of Entrepreneurship Promotion, representing almost 1,7 M€; 8 projects of Environment Protection and Biodiversity, ascending to 1,4 M€; 5 projects to foster SME's Competitiveness, of 0,7 M€; and 5 projects for strengthening R&D in companies, of 0,8 M€.

Operational Program CRESC Algarve 2020 - Regional Incentive System

5 Applications to the Incentive System to Collective Actions (SIAC), in a total of 2,278,130.09 investment, with a fund of € 1,648,611.00. The submitted projects resulted from the identification of regional needs and are based on a logic of proximity and collaboration with other regional actors.

Team:

João Guerreiro Scientific Advisor	Hugo Barros Coordinator	Alexandra Marques Science and Technology Manager	Ana Lúcia Cruz Project Manager
Susana Imaginário Project Manager	Eurídice Cristo Project Manager	Sofia Vairinho Legal Advisor	Paulina Rei Project Manager

Contacts:

CRIA - Division of Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer
Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Pavilhão B1, 8005-139 Faro PORTUGAL
Tel.: +351 289 800 097, Fax: +351 289 800 098
E-mail: cria@ualg.pt