From 12 to 14 October 2026, the Alfândega do Porto will host the 2026 edition of the AI, Data and Robotics Forum (ADRF). The event is expected to bring together more than 500 experts, researchers, policymakers, and industry representatives working in Artificial Intelligence, data and robotics.
This is important for a simple reason: Europe is entering a moment in which these areas are becoming more central to its economic strength, its industrial future, and its strategic position. We are seeing this very clearly in the growing attention being given to computing infrastructure, data spaces, experimentation environments, regulation, and the capacity to apply these technologies in areas such as energy, manufacturing, mobility, ocean activities, and public services.
It also makes sense to look at AI, data, and robotics together. In practice, they increasingly belong to the same reality. Data gives visibility over systems and processes. AI helps interpret, predict, optimise, and support decisions. Robotics and autonomous systems bring this intelligence into physical settings, where action must take place under real constraints, often in real time. What matters more is how these elements come together in systems that are useful, reliable, and capable of operating in practice.
This is one of the reasons why the ADR Forum is relevant; it is a place where Europe’s discussion becomes more concrete. Research, industry, policy and implementation are brought into the same space. At this stage, that matters a great deal. Europe already has strong scientific communities, high-level talent, and serious ambition in these fields. The harder task is to connect these assets in ways that generate capability on the ground: in companies, infrastructures, public institutions, and sectors where technological development is moving quickly and where speed of execution also matters.
For INESC TEC, hosting ADRF 2026 is meaningful precisely in this context. It is an opportunity to contribute from an area where we have real experience: the connection between science and application, between long-term knowledge and operational use, between European agendas and practical systems. This is something we know well from our work in fields such as energy and the ocean, where progress depends not only on technical advances, but also on data, validation, experimentation, interoperability, and the capacity to make solutions work continuously in real conditions.
For our region and for the country, this is also a significant opportunity. When Europe looks for places that can host this kind of discussion, more than attractiveness or international visibility, what matters is the existence of a real ecosystem. Our region brings together universities, research organisations, companies, infrastructures, and public actors in a way that nourishes a broader discussion. That matters for the North region. It matters for Portugal. And it matters because these European discussions are more useful when they are close to places where capability already exists and can continue to grow.
There is also a broader point here. In many areas, the question is no longer whether AI can produce interesting results. The more demanding question is whether we are creating the conditions for AI, data and robotics to work well at scale, in a sustained and trustworthy way. That takes strong models, no doubt. But it also depends on good data, testing environments, people with different kinds of knowledge, organisations able to adapt, and institutions able to connect technology to real needs.
This is why ADRF 2026 matters. Bringing the Forum to Porto means bringing to our region and Portugal a European discussion that is right now central for competitiveness, for industrial renewal, and for the future direction of science and technology in society. For INESC TEC, for the region and for Portugal, this is a unique opportunity to be part of that discussion with relevance and with something real to contribute.
By João Claro, Chairman of the Board and CEO of INESC TEC
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