Minerva Director and CommBeBiz (CBB) Project Coordinator, Rhonda Smith, shared key insights on maximising research impact through communication at the international symposium SMARTAgriFor Norte 2020 in Portugal.

The event, held at the Alfândega Porto Congress Centre in May, was dedicated to promoting research and transference of knowledge between the Universities in the northern region of Portugal (University of Porto, University of Minho, Portuguese Catholic University, and University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro) and the private sector.

During the two-day event, companies, higher education institutions and other R & D organizations from all over the world were able to learn from some of the most important experts in the agro-food value chain.

“SMARTAgriForNorte was an invaluable event bringing together researchers and industry experts from around the world as well as showcasing some of the ground-breaking research being carried out at the universities in northern Portugal,” said Rhonda.

“It provided an ideal opportunity to share the key insights from the CBB project to ensure that all researchers benefit from what was learned and are inspired to create maximise impact from their bioeconomy research for business and/or for societal benefit,” she added.

Other speakers at the event included Dr Jan Willem Kruize, of WUR, who discussed the need for SMEs to foster smart reindustrialisation through innovation, and Professor Derek Stewart of the James Hutton Institute, who spoke about discovery science to commercial exploitation.

For further information visit the SMARTAgriFor Norte website at http://web.spi.pt/smartagrifor-norte/