Research - Universidade de Aveiro

01/10/2026

🔬 The latest +Ciência newsletter is out!

Discover research, stories and opportunities from across the Universidade de Aveiro and stay connected with the science being done at UAveiro.

📩 Have you subscribed yet?

26/09/2026

🔬✨ Throwback to last night’s European Researchers’ Night at Fábrica Centro Ciência Viva de Aveiro!

UAveiro research units were at the Science Fair, sharing their work, meeting the public and showing some of the research happening across the University.

From experiments to demonstrations and hands-on activities, it was an evening of science, curiosity and discovery.

📸 Here are some highlights from the night!

Universidade de Aveiro

25/09/2026

🌍 Environment vs. Technological Development: can we find the right balance?

As part of September’s +Ciência theme, The Earth Tells Stories, this episode of (Des)Complica podcast brings together Alexandra Monteiro, researcher at the Departamento de Ambiente e Ordenamento/CESAM - Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar), and Diogo Gomes, researcher at the Departamento de Electrónica, Telecomunicações e Informática/ Instituto de Telecomunicações.

Climate change, artificial intelligence, data centres and the environmental impact of an increasingly digital world are just some of the topics explored in a conversation about environment, technology and the challenges ahead.

🎧 An episode worth listening to, watching and sharing, showing how science can help us (un)complicate some of the major questions of our time.

Programa da Universidade de Aveiro, com produção e realização dos S...

24/09/2026

🔬✨ Science is stepping out of the lab and coming closer to everyone!

The Universidade de Aveiro, through Fábrica Centro Ciência Viva de Aveiro, is once again joining the Noite Europeia dos Investigadores (25-set / 20h00 - 24h00), an initiative that brings science, researchers and society closer together.

Get ready for an evening filled with science, technology, music, experiments and plenty of fun, a great opportunity to explore, ask questions and meet the people behind the research.

🧪 Science for all ages, in a night of discovery and celebration.

18/09/2026

🇺🇸 Take your research to UT Austin

Applications are now open for the UT Austin Portugal Research Sprint Residencies, supporting short-term, intensive research stays at The University of Texas at Austin.

Open to faculty members, researchers, PhD students and postdocs affiliated with Portuguese academic institutions, research organisations and companies, the initiative offers 2 to 8-week residencies, with support for travel and accommodation.

Research projects should focus on one of four areas: Advanced Computing, Clean Energy, Nanotechnologies, or Space-Earth Technologies.

📅 Applications: 15 September – 23 October 2026

🔗 Learn more and apply: https://utaustinportugal.org/education/research-sprint-residencies/

17/09/2026

🌍 UAveiro joins KOSMIC to strengthen digital skills in Kosovo

The Universidade de Aveiro is a partner in KOSMIC, a new EU-funded project, locally coordinated by Manuel Au-Yong Oliveira (Degeit - UA / GOVCOPP Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies). Led by the Public International Business College (IBCM - Kosovo), the project will establish Kosovo’s first national ecosystem for ICT micro-credentials. Bringing together higher education institutions, vocational education and training providers, employers and the Kosovo Ministry of Education, KOSMIC will support lifelong learning, employability and digital transformation.

15/09/2026

🧠 Advancing neurorehabilitation education in Southeast Asia

The NEURON (Neurorehab Education Enhancement in Southeast Asia) project brings together 12 institutions from five countries to strengthen neurorehabilitation education in Malaysia and Vietnam.

Through modernised curricula, digital health technologies and hands-on training, NEURON will help prepare students and professionals for the growing challenges in neurorehabilitation. A key outcome will be the creation of five NEURON Excellence Hubs, combining simulation, digital health and interdisciplinary education.

The Universidade de Aveiro participates in the project under the local coordination of Fernando Ribeiro (Escola Superior de Saúde da Universidade de Aveiro / Ibimed - Institute of BioMedicine), as part of Erasmus+ Key Action 2 – Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE).

14/09/2026

How can higher education help prepare the next generation to tackle climate and environmental risks? 🌍

The EDU-TWINLAB project is bringing together universities in Thailand and Europe to modernise education in climate and environmental risk management through Digital Twins and Living Labs.

Coordinated by Kasetsart University, the project will integrate innovative tools and real-world learning environments into Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD programmes, as well as microcredentials. Students will develop key skills in multi-risk assessment, geospatial data analysis, scenario modelling and decision-making, helping to bridge the gap between higher education and the needs of the labour market.

At the Universidade de Aveiro, the project is coordinated by Fátima Alves (Departamento de Ambiente e Ordenamento / CESAM - Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar), with the UAveiro team contributing its expertise in coastal risks, multi-risk assessment and pedagogical innovation. Among the project’s main outcomes are three permanent Living Labs focused on agricultural, urban and coastal environments, supported by Digital Twins designed for education and training. EDU-TWINLAB will also update at least 12 courses and provide new training opportunities for students and academic staff.

A collaborative step towards more innovative, practical and future-ready environmental risk education in Thailand and Southeast Asia.

07/09/2026

Regenerating bone while eliminating residual tumor cells in a single treatment is the challenge behind SMART-Bone, an innovative initiative coordinated by the Universidade de Aveiro. 🦴🔬

Funded under the FCT RESTART programme, the project is led by researcher Cláudia Nunes at CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials.

Following bone tumor surgery, SMART-Bone tackles recurrence and tissue repair using multifunctional 3D scaffolds made from chitosan, a natural, bioabsorbable biopolymer. Functionalized with magnetic and piezoelectric nanoparticles, this smart biomaterial regenerates damaged bone while destroying residual cancer cells via therapies triggered safely from outside the body. Because the scaffold naturally degrades as healthy bone forms in its place, patients avoid secondary removal surgeries. The non-invasive, externally controlled activation also enables highly personalized treatments with reduced toxicity and fewer side effects.

By uniting precision oncology and tissue engineering in a single platform, SMART-Bone aims to prevent recurrence, accelerate post-surgical recovery, and improve quality of life for bone cancer patients.

04/09/2026

Over 190 million animals are used in research worldwide every year, making the development of ethical, human-relevant alternatives more urgent than ever. 🔬✨

To help lead this transition, the Universidade de Aveiro is coordinating ORGAPET (Organoid-based Research for Guided Assessment using PET), an innovative project funded under the FCT RESTART programme and led by researcher Fabiana De Meneses Ribeiro at I3N - Institute for Nanostructures, Nanomodelling and Nanofabrication.

The team is addressing a critical gap in preclinical molecular imaging by developing the first standardised and quantitative PET imaging methodology for cancer organoids, enabling reproducible and transferable studies that can substantially reduce reliance on animal models. By directly mirroring human tissue architecture and therapeutic response, ORGAPET is set to replace 40 to 80 animals per tracer in early validation studies, reduce experimental costs by up to 10-fold, and significantly cut laboratory waste.

Aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), this project reinforces precision medicine while placing Portugal at the forefront of sustainable, non-animal biomedical research.