Collaborative Research

Food, Farming and Forestry (F3) College

The Food, Farming and Forestry (F3) College, which currently comprises twelve ULisboa Schools working in the natural and social sciences, aims to create and translate transdisciplinary knowledge in the fields of food, agriculture and forestry, which has an impact on responding to societal and environmental challenges. This organisational model, unique in the country, and the public recognition of the excellence of the multiple skills in place, allows the main issues facing these sectors to be addressed with rigour, knowledge and independence, and can welcome and associate with external initiatives of recognised merit.

The creation of the F3 College stems from the need to achieve technological advances and new business strategies in terms of innovation and socio-environmental responsibility, but also new public policies to promote more sustainable systems and a model of society in which all actors are better informed. The current challenges facing society require science to be more attentive to the ecological and social context of agroforestry and food production in order to overcome many of the problems we face today. They require a more fruitful dialogue between science and contextualised local knowledge and a science that is not only interdisciplinary but also transdisciplinary, in which scientists and economic and social actors are called upon to co-produce and communicate socially relevant knowledge.

Mind-Brain College

The Mind-Brain College is an interdisciplinary unit at the University of Lisbon dedicated to the integrated study of the mind and brain.

It covers a wide range of topics and research approaches, including molecular, cognitive, social and computational perspectives. The College brings together students and scientists to discuss the latest discoveries and current promises and challenges in mind and brain research. By contributing to advanced knowledge in these areas, the College promotes development in clinical, educational and social contexts.

The Mind-Brain College integrates several ULisboa schools that have research centres in the fields of mind and brain. Under the umbrella of the College, the schools are involved in joint PhD programmes that stimulate interdisciplinary research, inter-institutional supervision and resource sharing, which are crucial for the development of innovative research projects.

Chemistry College

The College of Chemistry of ULisboa (CQUL) brings together professors and researchers from the various Schools of the University of Lisbon with activity in Chemistry, contributing to the cohesion and better use of the University's human and material resources within the scope of teaching and research.

The College should be able to articulate the multiple competences in the area of ​​Chemistry at the ULisboa, creating new inter-School dynamics that will lead to the multiplication of joint and innovative initiatives in doctoral programs, research projects, technological development, etc., which may contribute towards the competitiveness of an area with a long tradition at this University and of recognized international merit. It is hoped, therefore, to consolidate the ULisboa's reference position in the field of Chemistry at the national level and also to expand its role in international consortia.

Tropical College

The Tropical College (CTROP) is a transversal unit of the University of Lisbon (ULisboa), which aims to develop a transdisciplinary strategy at ULisboa to solve societal challenges in tropical regions. Its vision is to contribute to reducing inequalities between countries by promoting scientific and technological development, innovation and education in tropical regions.

CTROP's mission is to develop transdisciplinary knowledge in tropical regions, in the various fields of the participating institutions, prioritizing research, education, extension and cooperation, in conjunction with innovation and technology transfer, and reinforcing ULisboa's role in science diplomacy.

Polar Sciences and Extreme Environments College

The College of Polar and Extreme Environment Sciences (Polar2E) aims to foster synergies between leading research teams at the University of Lisbon in strategic areas such as cryosphere sciences, climate modelling, polar and extreme environment ecosystems, remote sensing, sustainable construction in extreme environments, the biogeochemistry of extreme environments, the space environment and the social sciences, extending these to other fields within the University.

Water College

The Water College has been established within the framework of the WISE – Water Innovation, Science and Education project, which aims to integrate research, innovation, and advanced education to address major water-related challenges, from water scarcity and pollution to climate resilience and the blue economy.

Funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation with €900,000 through 2029, WISE is structured around three pillars: the development and validation of innovative solutions in real-world settings, the incubation and acceleration of start-ups, and education and talent development programmes. The project brings together ULisboa's areas of excellence, including water resilience, artificial intelligence for predictive monitoring, smart water resource management, and autonomous robotics for ecosystem restoration, transforming scientific knowledge into solutions with environmental, economic, and societal impact.

RedeAGRO - Interdisciplinary Thematic Network for Agri-Food and Forestry

The Interdisciplinary Thematic Network for Agri-Food and Forestry (RedeAGRO) at the University of Lisbon aims, above all, to organise ULisboa lecturers/researchers in this field of study so that, by taking advantage of the critical mass in terms of the number of researchers/research units and their respective levels of specialised differentiation, they can more easily join into international networks and position themselves for future axes of the smart specialisation strategy (RIS3) included in the Partnership Agreement with the European Union and respective operational programmes (Portugal 2020), as well as other national and/or international competitive axes.

RedeAGRO is made up of schools and research centres working in areas that include (1) Agriculture and plant-based foods; (2) Forestry and forest-based industry; and (3) Livestock and animal-based foods, which are part of ULisboa, thus revealing a variety of themes and methodologies.

RedeAGRO addresses priorities defined by the EU in the context of sustainable development and the H2020 Strategic Programme. The network's work covers the main lines of research established at national level (FCT, Portugal 2020) and at European level (Horizon 2020), in order to integrate societal challenges at regional and national level, including partnerships with the private sector.

The main objective of RedeAGRO is to promote an interdisciplinary strategy in scientific areas related to the agri-food and forestry sectors within ULisboa, so that the research produced within ULisboa can contribute more effectively to solving the challenges and problems that society faces in these areas. To this end, it has been developing contacts with companies and institutions in the national scientific and technological system through conferences and symposiums, as well as bilateral meetings and the establishment of a Business Advisory Council (CCE).

RedeSAÚDE - Interdisciplinary Health Network

The Interdisciplinary Health Network of the University of Lisbon (RedeSAÚDE) aims to foster cooperation between teachers/researchers at the University of Lisbon in order to promote a coordinated response to scientific challenges related to innovation in products, processes and services in the healthcare sector.

RedeSAÚDE operates at the interface between Science, Innovation and Public Policy, promoting collaborative actions to respond to national and international objectives through a strategic network of partnerships in the area of Health. To achieve these objectives, RedeSAÚDE develops activities and encourages the University of Lisbon's participation in external platforms, such as ‘Lisbon Living+’ and ‘EIT Health’.

RedeSAÚDE's objectives are:

• To respond to the challenges posed by national and international programmes supporting research in the area of health;

• To promote interdisciplinarity, bridging complementary areas of knowledge for the process of innovation in health;

• To establish platforms to increase the impact of projects with critical mass to bring together the public, private and social sectors.

The three strategic pillars of RedeSAÚDE through which initiatives are organised are:

• Research & Development;

• Innovation & Knowledge Transfer;

• Health System & Digital Transformation.

In order to promote its activities, RedeSAÚDE will also bring together groups of experts who develop cross-cutting work programmes in the areas of ‘Ageing’ and ‘Precision Medicine’, as well as four clinically oriented working groups for the areas of “Oncology”, ‘Neurodegenerative Diseases’, ‘Infectious Diseases’, ‘Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases’.

RedeMOV - Interdisciplinary Thematic Network for Urban and Smart Mobility

The Interdisciplinary Thematic Network for Urban and Smart Mobility at the University of Lisbon (RedeMOV) aims, above all, to organise the teaching staff/researchers at the University of Lisbon in this area of study so that, in accordance with specialised differentiation criteria, the University can be included in international networks, as well as positioning itself in the future axes of smart specialisation strategies (RIS3) included in Portugal 2020 and in the societal challenges contained in Horizon 2020.

The redeMOV network intends to address new perspectives on issues related to urban mobility, given that the problems to be solved point to solutions that go beyond the domain of planning and managing the supply of transport systems, extending to the management of how goods and services are accessed, ensuring equity and social cohesion, as well as reducing environmental impacts.

The redeMOV network seeks to ensure that the research to be carried out is geared towards the management and innovation of systems, allowing for a more rational, efficient and environmentally sustainable use of available modes and means of transport, promoting and facilitating the relevant and irreplaceable role of intermodality and multimodality.

The redeMOV network promotes the formulation and development of new systems that enhance the replacement of motorised travel needs to access goods and services, crossing issues related to ICT, urban planning and urban logistics.

The redeMOV network aims to go beyond the strict domain of vehicles, modes of transport, infrastructure and the relationship between them, to encompass behavioural aspects, the relationship between mobility/urban planning/land use, the sharing of means of transport and the ease with which the various modes of transport can be accessed.

RedeMAR - Interdisciplinary Marine Network

The Interdisciplinary Marine Network of the University of Lisbon (RedeMAR) aims to develop a strategic plan in the area of Marine Sciences and Technologies, bringing together teachers and researchers from the various schools, institutes and research centres that make up the University.

RedeMAR aims to generate a stimulating process of wealth and knowledge creation about the sea in order to reposition Portugal in the global arena, while simultaneously increasing the value of environmental, social, economic, historical and future issues relating to the oceans.

RedeMAR also seeks to contribute to an integrative strategy and vision for public policy for the sea, by establishing and monitoring an agenda, including the involvement of local communities through the development and improvement of a common policy that seeks to stimulate collaborative action in order to achieve national objectives for the sector.

RedeMAR proposes the creation at ULisboa of a platform of collective interest and coordinated action to improve the development of national objectives for the sea, using the legacy of ocean knowledge, promoting integrated and cross-cutting proposals through applications for funding for research projects, doctoral programmes and training and dissemination activities. It also aims to strengthen ULisboa's expertise in areas of excellence related to the ocean and its fields of research, through a dynamic process that proposes an active, lively and stimulating network working on the sea in its various aspects.

RedeVALOR - Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Transfer Network

The Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Transfer Network of the University of Lisbon (RedeVALOR) is a cross-cutting network involving representatives from all of its schools.

By forming RedeVALOR, ULisboa aims to promote discussion of topics related to entrepreneurship, innovation and knowledge transfer, in order to improve the University's skills in these areas and foster interdisciplinarity, promoting closer ties and collaboration between ULisboa's 18 schools.

The redeVALOR network aims to foster greater openness of the University to society by promoting innovation, entrepreneurship and knowledge transfer practices in a more systematic way with a sense of social responsibility.

The network also aims to strengthen ULisboa's relations with other national and international institutions associated with the practice of knowledge transfer and valorisation, by forming partnerships between the University and companies and stimulating opportunity-driven entrepreneurship.

Essentially, redeVALOR is interested in all matters related to the complex process of bringing the results of teaching and R&D activities into practical use, with economic and social benefits.

• CoLAB BIOREF - Collaborative Laboratory for Biorefineries

• CoLAB Smart Energy Lab

• Smart Farm CoLAB - Collaborative Laboratory for Digital Innovation in Agriculture

CIÊNCIAS participates in various collaboration mechanisms and international networks, which can be characterised by:

• Extended time horizon;

• Existence of a broad ‘consortium’ of institutions, with its own management, leadership and visibility on the internet;

• Objective associated with missions, development of scientific and technological infrastructure, international experiences, advanced training programmes in association;

• External funding or funding dependent on international opinions;

• Institutional networks formalised through bilateral or multilateral protocols or contracts, often by the Portuguese State itself.

Space and Astrophysics

• ESA - GAIA-DPAC - Data Processing Analysis Consortium

• ESO - ESPRESSO - Echelle SPectrograph for Rocky Exoplanets and Stable Spectroscopic Observations

• ESA - EUCLID - Mapping the geometry of the dark Universe

• ESA - PLATO-PPLC - PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars - PLATO Payload Consortium

• SKA - Square Kilometre Array

Nuclear Physics and Particles

• CERN - ATLAS - Particle physics experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN

• SNO+ - Neutrino physics: mass and fluxes from the sun, earth and supernovae

• CERN - CRYSTAL-CLEAR - R&D on scintillation materials for novel ionising radiation detectors for High Energy Physics, medical imaging and industrial applications

• CERN - CLOUD - Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets

• IDPASC - International Doctorate Network in Particle Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology

Biological and Biophysical Sciences

• EC - HIVE - Hyper Interaction Viability Experiments (for non-invasive brain stimulation technologies)

• INSTRUCT - Integrated Structural Biology Infrastructure

Earth System, Environment and Climate Change

• EUROPEAN SCIENCE FOUNDATION - NITROGEN - Assessing and Managing nitrogen fluxes in the atmosphere-biosphere system in Europe.

• EUROMARINE - European Marine Research Network

• REAPLP - Environmental Studies Network of Portuguese-speaking Countries

• EU - CIRCLE-2 - Climate Impact Research & Response Coordination for a Larger Europe

• EEA - ETC-CCA - European Topic Centre on Climate Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation

• EURO-ARGO - Global Ocean Observing Infrastructure

• LTER-EUROPE - European Long-Term Ecosystem Research Network

• EMSO - European Multidisciplinary Seafloor Observatory

History of Science

• ICHU - International Commission for the History of the Universities

Computational Language

• CLARIN - Common Language Resources and Technology Infrastructure

CIÊNCIAS interacts with various international scientific organisations (almost all of which are multigovernmental in nature and outside the context of the European Union) that, in some way, fund R&D projects in science and technology, implement large-scale experiments and missions, manage collaboration networks, and organise internationally renowned conferences in various scientific and technological fields.

The culture and operating methods of these organisations have become known to groups of CIÊNCIAS researchers and can be shared with anyone who, in one way or another, wishes to and is able to join.

Each organisation typically has an institutional relationship with Portugal, without prejudice to providing information through its own channels and establishing direct links with interested parties.

International organisations with which CIÊNCIAS has interacted most intensively:

• CERN - European Organisation for Nuclear Research

• ESA - European Space Agency

• ESO - European Southern Observatory

• EDA - European Defence Agency

• NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

• IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency

• IEA - International Energy Agency

• JRC - Joint Research Centre

• IMEKO - International Measurement Confederation

• EUMETSAT - European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites