Open Innovation Hub

Smart & Sustainable Cities, Regions & Villages

DEVELOPING SMART & SUSTAINABLE REGIONS

The Open Innovation Hub (OIH) for Smart & Sustainable Cities, Regions & Villages at Polytechnic University of Setúbal is one of nine OIHs in the E³UDRES² alliance.

 Regional development is grounded in a virtuous quadruple helix to foster value-creation links among stakeholders. Strategic commitment, aligned with smart regional specialization priorities, enables governance structures and activities that effectively fulfill stakeholders’ needs and ambitions.

The Smart & Sustainable Cities, Regions & Villages Hub Hub is dedicated to addressing the talent‑management challenge and acts as a regional catalyst for entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainable growth. The Hub’s mission is to tackle gaps in operational leadership skills, while also strengthening innovation transfer processes and promoting robust public-private partnerships.

What the Open Innovation Hub does

The Hub aims to operationalize its strategy through mechanisms, such as the Dinamiza platform and IPStartUp.

Dinamiza is a platform designed to connect, activate, and strengthen the region’s innovation ecosystem. By bringing together companies, researchers, public entities, and community partners, Dinamiza enhances communication, collaboration, and co-creation among key stakeholders. Its mission is to reinforce the relationship between Polytechnic University of Setúbal and its partners, broaden access to science, knowledge, and technology, and create new opportunities for joint initiatives that contribute to the sustainable development of the Setúbal region.

IPStartUp, tightly linked to Dinamiza and embedded in a broader entrepreneurial ecosystem, aims to promote and support entrepreneurial mindsets and competencies within the IPS academic community, enabling a better response to regional challenges and drivers within an uncertain future.

The Base

📍Polytechnic University of Setúbal

The Smart & Sustainable Cities, Regions & Villages Hub is led by Luísa Carvalho, Vice-President for R&D and Internationalization.

Founded in 1979, the Polytechnic University of Setúbal is a public higher education institution recognized for its strong commitment to innovation, applied knowledge, and regional engagement. Its educational model emphasizes practice-oriented training tailored and aligned with labor-market needs.

Distinctive features of IPS’s institutional DNA include the strong practical component of teaching, close links to professional contexts through work-based learning, and the continuous development of skills in innovation and entrepreneurship. These characteristics complement IPS’s sustained investment in research and its decisive contribution to regional development.

More about the Polytechnic University of Setúbal
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Contact the team of the open innovation hub