Guarda, Portugal, Sept. 9, 2026 (Lusa) - The Polytechnic University of Guarda (UPG) has filed three patent applications with the National Institute of Industrial Property for inventions developed by its researchers in digital technology and healthcare.
«These three patents mark a milestone in establishing UPG as a leading polytechnic university, committed to a mission that combines teaching, applied research and close ties with the communities and the business sector we serve,» said the Vice-Chancellor, Joaquim Brigas.
In his view, «this is the role that a higher education institution should play: generating knowledge and ensuring that this knowledge is transformed into tangible value for the region and the country».
The applications relate to a digital manufacturing system and an additive printing system, both devised by researcher Rui Pires, and an integrated blood infusion device, developed by lecturers Raquel Lima and Luís Miguel Condeço.
The first two are national patent applications, and the third is an international patent application.
The UPG filed the three applications in June and July, following the March launch of an executive training course on Innovation and Intellectual Property to equip researchers, company staff, business association members, and local authority technicians to protect rights to trade marks, domain names, products, or industrial designs.
«The three patents are the direct result of UPG's commitment to supporting applied research, providing our researchers with the necessary conditions and support to ensure that the knowledge they produce is protected and can have a real impact,» added Maximiano Ribeiro, UPG's Vice-Rector for Research.
Meanwhile, Rui Carreto, director of the executive training programme in Innovation and Intellectual Property at UPG, highlighted the course's practical focus.
«The postgraduate programme was designed to meet a specific need: many researchers and entrepreneurs know how to innovate, but need guidance on how to protect and capitalise on that innovation.» In a statement sent to the Lusa news agency, UPG noted that this programme provides «a practical and multidisciplinary approach to the main areas of industrial property, including patents, trademarks, designs, national and international protection strategies, technology transfer, licensing and the commercialisation of innovation».
The postgraduate programme is delivered in a hybrid format, combining online and face-to-face learning, and is organised on an after-work basis.
According to UPG, in addition to the local authorities and companies with which the Polytechnic has joint projects, the start-ups based at the Guarda Polytechnic's ‘Desnuclearizada' Incubator, with centres in Guarda, Mêda, Seia, São João da Pesqueira, Vouzela and São Pedro do Sul, have also expressed a need for training in this area.
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