Porto is preparing to host the G-30 of European Technology Transfer Offices

INESC TEC will have the honour of hosting the 17^th annual plenary meeting of the TTO Circle, co-organised with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. The event, taking place in Porto on 18 and 19 June, is a particularly significant moment, not only because it is the first time this initiative is planned for Portugal, but also because it sends a clear message of recognition of the expanding role that institutions like INESC TEC have been playing within the European innovation landscape.

The TTO Circle brings together a group of RTOs, forming a unique platform for sharing practices, strategic reflection and the development of solutions to common challenges in the field of knowledge valorisation. In a European context shaped by technological transitions, demands for strategic sovereignty and stronger connections between science, industry and public policy – like forums – take on even greater importance.

The meeting agenda clearly reflects this ambition, by featuring areas like dual use, the Blue Economy, international technology partnerships and strengthening intellectual property capabilities, thus highlight a shared concern: how to transform scientific and technological assets into economic value and societal impact, in a responsible, sustainable way that meets European priorities.

More than a discussion forum, the TTO Circle establishes itself as a community of practice that concentrates a scarce critical mass in Europe – professionals and organisations operating at the interface between knowledge and the market. It is within this space that common approaches are built, strategies are harmonised and models are developed to more effectively connect intellectual property with value creation and technological implementation.

At a time when Europe is seeking to strengthen the capacity to turn knowledge into concrete solutions – industrial, digital, energy or security-related – the connection between intellectual property, technology and international collaboration becomes central. The TTO Circle represents precisely this meeting point.

And Porto, in this context, asserts itself as a place where this connection happens – between institutions, countries and visions for the future of European innovation.

By Daniel Vasconcelos, head of the Technology Transfer Office