By Andrea Hargraves 
Two science and technology parks associations, PortusPark and TecParques, have come together to develop a program called Transtech, which aims to give SMEs in the North, Central and Antejo regions the opportunity to better qualify for free, to remain in the orbit of major producers in the regions of greatest weight in the global economy. The initiative is expected to have 930 participants.
The central idea of the project is to allow SMEs to know the requirements they have to meet the challenges and trends of major global chains in the agri-food, automotive, aviation, energy / decarbonization and information technology sectors. But there is also the possibility of engaging large chains so that they can learn about the reality of small and medium enterprises, especially those of a technological and creative nature included in the national science and technology parks.
Transtech promoters have created a program of several phases, which will be developed until the end of September 2022, with an investment of € 326,000 under Compete, explains Alexander Rios, director of PortusPark, the main institution of the consortium, based in Porto.
The program started in October, and at this moment, the diagnostic phase has already ended, and a survey has been conducted with SMEs in the aforementioned sectors, in addition to the reference companies and associated associations as well. It will be a world of ‘hundreds’ of entities invited to identify these challenges, trends and requirements, in a process carried out through direct contacts and information gathering through questionnaires.
The selection of the North, Central and Antejo regions resulted from the criteria of the financing program that it envisaged to apply in the three converging regions of the country. Alexander Rios explains that this option aims to “reduce the disparities that exist at certain points in these geographical areas compared to the rest of the country.”
It is based on the diagnostic results that the program will develop towards the realization of a set of workshops, about a dozen workshops, scheduled to start in May, responsible for specialists in knowledge management, financial literacy, certification processes and information networks. Innovation, among other things, with both sector-specific as well as cross-cutting approaches.
They will conduct specialized technical workshops for the respective alliances, as well as subcontracted entities and specific partners for each type of business.
Site within one month
The third phase of Transtech anticipates the realization of so-called “innovation roadmaps”, through which a group of participants will be able to visit reference companies in the sectors being considered in their region, as well as technology centers, research units and laboratories that support these activities.
Finally, the program will culminate in International Participation Sessions, responsible for two participating science parks societies, as part of their participation in the IASP conferences – The International Association of Science Parks.
Another essential part of the process – the Transtech site – should be available “in a month”. It will be the tool through which those interested will be able to obtain information about the program and register for various initiatives. It is also expected to be present on social networks (Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook).
The final symposium for the entire work will, within a year and a half, be an occasion dedicated by the promoters to disseminate the results of the strategic diagnosis of the sectors identified in the project and “to indicate ways of dealing with the most important sectors. National competitiveness factors,” as we believe that the selected sectors are “those that It can further encourage the rest of the economy, and generate a negative impact that everyone can benefit from, ”says Anna Paula Grego, director of TecParques.