Unit for Innovation and Research in Engineering

The Unit for Innovation and Research in Engineering (UnIRE) is located at ISEL and promote value-added synergies in the use of facilities, equipment, and human resources. UnIRE’s objectives and strategy for 2024-2028 are aligned with the ongoing projects involving the researchers who are its integrated members and with the knowledge and skills of the multidisciplinary research team. UnIRE is organized around 4 research areas: design, materials, and manufacturing; industrial management and control systems; sustainability, environment and energy; informatics systems and digitalization. However, aiming at the collaborative integration of competences, a common denominator was sought for the listed areas based on the United Nations sustainable development objectives as follows: 4, 7, 9, 12 and 17.

The core values underlying the implementation strategy of this R&D&I Institute are: Innovation; Excellence; Collaboration; Ethics; Sustainability; and Continuous Learning.

The research team consist of 47 researchers, of which 29 are integrated members, 3 PhD students and 15 collaborators. Of the 29 integrated members, 26 are ISEL staff and 3 belong to other national institutions. One PhD student is academic staff of ISEL and the other two are ISEL former students. Of the 15 collaborator members, 5 are academic staff of ISEL, 5 are academic staff at foreign universities (Brazil, Italy, Singapore, Sweden and United Kingdom) and 5 are academic staff at other national institutions. The constitution of this team seeks to ensure the continuity of existing partnerships with ISEL researchers and to strengthen the collaborative work with other national institutions, as well as to promote the internationalization of UnIRE with its participation in transnational projects.

The UnIRE promote scientific dissemination by organising national and international conferences, workshops, and meetings. Its strategy for 2024-2028 involves promoting courses on emerging technologies underlying the projects in which its researchers are or will be involved and the search for new international partners, to strengthen existing collaborative networks. The multidisciplinary nature of UnIRE leads to increased competitive capacity, namely because: I) the skills of its members form a multidisciplinary base; II) will benefit from the existing laboratory conditions at ISEL and at the national and international institutions to which its members belong; III) it will work in a higher education institution that offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses that attract new researchers, particularly young researchers; and IV) the integration of researchers from international institutions enhances the UnIRE internationalization capabilities, allowing the exchange of resources, knowledge and technology.