NMS commited with NOVA's Sustainability Agenda

João Conde, principal investigator of the Cancer Nanomedicine Laboratory, participated in the roundtable dedicated to the "Value of Sustainability for Research", where researchers from several NOVA Schools discussed how can academia promote sustainability in research and science. In response to Patrícia Calado, NMS Vice-Dean for Research, the panel concluded that in order to have an impact with the research that is developed, it is necessary to publish the work, to be more entrepreneur, to communicate the results obtained and make an appropriate use of social networks, and finally influence policies and policy makers, at a national and international levels. The impact of research will hardly be immediate and multidisciplinary teams will be key to success. João Conde, also emphasised that the responsibility should be shared between academia and politics, and favoured the creation of working groups in universities whose focus is the transfer of scientific knowledge to the government to ultimatly reach the society, and the need to influence and work with decision-makers to design better programs to combat societal problems.

Diana Sousa, Jorge Castanheira, Vanessa Pereira, PhD Students from ToxOmics, iNOVA4Health and CINTESIS respectively, participated in the SDG Station dedicated to SDG3 - Good Health and Well-being, moderated by Patrícia Calado, in which researchers from other Schools also intervened. From this fruitful discussion, the need for good contact network was clearly evident.

The discussion on this same station, during the session dedicated to Innovation and Community, was moderated by Rita Rocha, NMS Innovation Manager, with the participation of Raquel Silva from VoH.CoLAB, Maria João Jacinto, from Patient Innovation - NMS /NOVA SBE, among other NOVA researchers. Rita Rocha emphasizes that in this collaborative moment, contacts were shared for future assistance between the different Organic Units from NOVA. In addition, Rita Rocha states that "there was a "common manifest" among the participant projects in which the researchers verbalized the need for the existence of a support platform at the interface between science and business creation, to support the valorization of the research projects from a very embryonic stage of the project - for example, looking for partners in the industry for collaboration and enhancement of projects under development, in a continuous articulation with the NOVA Impact Office". NMS has already taken the initiative in creating this support, through the creation of the innovation and knowledge enhancement branch, in the Pre-Award Office.

"At NOVA Sustainability Week, we had the opportunity to present the Excellence Seal Project “Healthy Food in Higher Education”, a strategy for modifying the food supply with a view to promoting healthier eating habits in all organic units of Universidade NOVA de Lisboa , framed in SDG 12 - Sustainable Production and Consumption. In fact, both the academic environment and the life stage of those entering higher education can provide opportunities for changing consumption patterns with a focus on sustainability." highlighted Inês Mota about the presence of the Nutrition and Lifestyles area.

Ana Isabel Santos, in the session dedicated to Infrastructure and Services, had the opportunity to present the "NMS Sustainability Roadmap", in which the main actions developed by NMS in recent years are highlighted, which have contributed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. .

On the day dedicated to presentations by the deans of the various NOVA Schools, Helena Canhão, Dean of NMS, had the opportunity to share with the entire community “The meaning of Sustainability for NMS and its commitment to The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in its various fields of action Teaching, Research, Innovation and Community Relations." Objectives were also presented for the management of resources and respective actions with application, in the short, medium and long term, with a view to "Sustainability."