A partnership with INESC Porto LA: a strategic option of CISTER

After a long process of reflection, and a large set of interactions with various entities, CISTER recently opted to join the Associate Laboratory INESC Porto LA. This association is a strategic option of CISTER in order to continue its path of excellence, considering both the access to conditions consistent with its activities and the exploration of synergies and complementarities.

It is known that the pluriannual programmatic funding is no longer available to research units, even if ranked Excellent, however, there is the expectation that it will continue at an appropriate level at the Associated Laboratories. It is important to note that programmatic funding is crucial to the implementation of strategies in pursuing Excellence in an area as dynamic as Information and Communication Technologies. There is also the belief that this association will accelerate the concretization of a definite solution for the CISTER facilities within ISEP’s campus.

Also, and even considering that CISTER already has a long practice of internationalization and exploration of results in pre-competitive projects, in partnerships with national and international leading companies, CISTER is convinced that it will benefit from the long experience and facilities available at INESC Porto LA at a pre-incubation enterprise level, technology transference and commercial exploration of results. Moreover, in some complementary scientific areas, CISTER may also benefit from synergies to be created with INESC Porto LA units.

Given its national and international leadership position in real-time and embedded computing systems, an area of undeniable and increasing relevance, CISTER will bring added competences and visibility to INESC Porto LA.