As part of the development of activities to promote a culture of science for public policies, BIKiNNOV will be one of the public entities hosting doctoral students covered by the Doctoral Research Scholarships funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT).

The FCT’s Non-Academic PhD Application Line aims to strengthen the link between work plans developed in an academic environment and the wider business and social fabric, including companies, public, social, health, cultural and other interface institutions.

This public policy to promote science funding thus seeks to strengthen synergies with the scientific and academic environment, boosting innovation and competitiveness. It is expected that 400 doctoral scholarships will be awarded to work plans developed in non-academic entities such as IPDJ. See the full list of institutions here. On March 8, 2022, BIKiNNOV was set up, a Technology and Innovation Center whose purpose is to provide technical and technological support to companies in the two-wheel sector, promoting the use of technology and innovation as tools for improving business competitiveness, increasing added value and qualifying the offer, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It is dedicated to the production, dissemination and transmission of knowledge geared towards companies and the creation of economic value, contributing to the pursuit of public policy objectives, orienting its actions towards market needs, seeking to fill existing gaps and contributing to the response to societal challenges.

It was born out of the ambition to provide a more global and qualified response than the one currently provided by the ABIMOTA Laboratory – National Association of the Two-Wheeler Industry, with a decisive focus on process and product innovation.

ABIMOTA and BIKiNNOV are part of the “Mobilizing Agenda for Business Innovation in the Two-Wheeler Sector (AM2R)” consortium, funded under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).

BIKiNNOV’s vision is “To be on a par with the best in the world of soft mobility in terms of research and development, combining and developing the capacities that already exist in Portugal”.

In general terms, over the next six years the CTI will have:

– 4 vertical axes (Materials, Production Technologies, Industrial Processes and the Development of Products and Services);

– 4 horizontal axes (Sustainability, Digitalization, People and Intellectual Property and International Networking).

BIKiNNOV is an association that has a strong commitment to Excellence and will provide conditions for all those who actively contribute to its mission, in terms of training, integration into other projects or its human resources framework.

Expressions of interest in having BIKiNNOV as a host organization for Doctoral Research Fellowships should be submitted by March 31 to the following e-mail address: gil.nadais@bikinnov.pt.

The basic operation of the Technology and Innovation Centre is ensured through the ‘Interface Mission’ of the PRR – Recovery and Resilience Plan, financed through the EU program “Next Generation EU”, with ANI – National Agency for Innovation – as the intermediary entity.