Local: FEUP, Auditorium Prof. Dr. José Marques Dos Santos

Date: Tuesday, July 1st, 2025 | 14h20-15h40

Chair: Liliana Antão, PhD Student (PRODEI), FEUP

Liliana Antão

PhD Student (PRODEI), FEUP

Liliana Antão holds a master’s in electrical and computer engineering. She is currently a PhD student at PRODEI, and researcher for Digital and Intelligent Industry (DIGI2) lab. She is one of the co-founders of Medtiles, a startup leading AI-driven solutions in healthcare. Previously, she worked as a Senior Data Scientist at DEUS and a Senior Consultant at Deloitte. Liliana has published research in industrial IoT and AI applications and has delivered over 10 AI-related talks.

Goals: Business Ideas Acceleration Programmes are designed to support PhD students eager to turn their innovative research into a viable, market-ready business. Academia is full of ground-breaking discoveries, but the real challenge often lies in transforming those discoveries into something that can make an impact outside of the lab. These acceleration programs bridge that gap by providing mentorship, resources, and structured support to help you commercialize your research, launch a startup, or explore the entrepreneurial landscape. Whether your goal is to bring a product to market or develop a service based on your research, these programs equip you with the tools to turn your academic passion into a thriving business.

Rules: A group of PhD students will deliver a five-minute pitch, presenting an innovative research proposal. The pitch should introduce the research-based product, process, or service, explain its innovation, and outline the execution plan. All this must be effectively communicated within the five-minute timeframe.

Eligibility: Teams must consist of 1-3 PhD students enrolled in FEUP Doctoral Programmes

Date: Please submit your application via the following link by May 30th. Up to seven 5-minute pitches will be selected for presentation at DCE25.

Evaluation: The jury is composed of experts from both academia and society:

  • Wilson Caldeira, Invited Professor, FEUP
  • Carrie Baptist, Chief Strategy Officer, Conception X
  • Raphael Stanzani, Entrepreneurship Programs Manager, UPTEC
  • Bruno Azevedo, CEO, AddVolt
  • Júlio Martins, CEO, Everythink

Award: One or two elements of the winning team will receive financial support from their respective doctoral program to:

  1. Attend the DEMO Day of the 2025 edition of the Conception X Programme in London, UK (November 2025);
  2. Receive in-house mentorship and coaching to prepare the application to be submitted to the 2026 edition of the Conception X;
  3. Participate in the School of Startups, a specialized program for researchers.

Program

14h20-14h30 | What is Conception X?

Conception X empowers PhD students to become Venture Scientists – PhD founders who bridge the gap between academia and industry. Whether you’re already working on a startup or interested in learning how to translate and commercialize your research, our program supports accelerating your understanding of entrepreneurship.

Lecturer: Carrie Baptist, Chief Strategy Officer, Conception X

Carrie Baptist

Chief Strategy Officer, Conception X

Carrie is Chief Strategy Officer of Conception X, Europe’s largest PhD deeptech venture programme. Conception X works with PhD scientists from 65+ Universities across Europe, providing a large cross-University platform for PhD founders, unlocking innovations from the lab and accelerating early stage research commercialisation.

14h30-14h35 | A Success Case: FTNanoAD-Targeted-Nanocarriers for Brain Diseases

BNanoTech, Inc. was founded on 02/03/2025 by Joana Loureiro and Maria do Carmo Pereira. The company’s technology originated from research conducted at the Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy (LEPABE), thus reinforcing the company’s strong connection with FEUP. The company develops controlled release systems for transporting drugs to the brain. The target market of BNanoTech, Ltd. includes pharmaceutical and biomedical industries interested in advanced therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, with potential for strategic partnerships and commercialization at national and international levels. Our participation in the Conception X program resulted directly in XTX Ventures proposing a £100,000 investment in our technology, which led to the faster creation of BNanoTech.

Lecturer: Joana Loureiro, Assistant Professor, LEPABE/ALiCE, FEUP

Joana Loureiro

Assistant Professor, LEPABE/ALiCE, FEUP

Joana A. Loureiro is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP) and a senior researcher at the Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology, and Energy (LEPABE). She earned her Ph.D. in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the University of Porto. Her research focuses on nanotechnology, particularly the development of functionalized nano-drug delivery systems for therapeutic applications, studies on amyloidogenic peptides, and the design of nanoparticles targeting the blood-brain barrier. She is/was involved in several projects (>17) for developing nanoengineered structures for the controlled delivery of bioactive molecules and has been in active collaboration with several national and international research groups. Dr. Loureiro has contributed to numerous scientific publications in these fields and supervised over 25 PhD and Master’s students.

14h35-14h45 | School of Startups at UPTEC

At the School of Startups, UPTEC – Science and Technology Park of the University of Porto offers dedicated programs that support different innovation pathways for entrepreneurs, researchers, students, and corporations. It’s a 3-month business idea acceleration program that provides the boost your idea needs to thrive. With 90+ hours of intensive hands-on training and personalized mentorship from industry experts, this program will help you validate your idea within the market.

Lecturer: Raphael Stanzani, Entrepreneurship Programs Manager, UPTEC

Raphael Stanzani

Entrepreneurship Programs Manager, UPTEC

Raphael, the Entrepreneurship Programs Manager at UPTEC, designs and executes startup acceleration workshops to transform innovative ideas into sustainable businesses that can scale and attract investment. He graduated from UFSCar (Brazil) with an MBA from Quantic School of Business (US). Has experience as Supply Chain Projects Manager at Procter & Gamble in Brazil and Territory Sales Manager for the Oral-B brand at Procter & Gamble Portugal. He also co-founded Connect Robotics, a drone delivery startup that received funding from ESA and EU. The startup was incubated at UPTEC, accelerated by Carnegie Mellon University, and a spin-off from the University of Porto.

14h45-14h55 | A Success Case of a Spin-Off FEUP: AddVolt

AddVolt is a technological company that developed the world’s 1st plug-in electrical system targeted for transportation markets. With our technology, refrigeration trucks can perform their cold operation in electric mode, reducing diesel dependence, the level of noise, and CO2 emissions.

Lecturer: Bruno Azevedo, CEO, AddVolt

Bruno Azevedo

CEO, AddVolt

Bruno is the CEO and co-founder of AddVolt, the powerhouse that developed the world’s first solution to replace the 4.5 million diesel engines used in refrigerated transport. He and his three co-founders have been dedicated to this innovative project since their university days. During the past ten years, he has also honed his commercial acumen, propelling Addvolt to the forefront of sustainable transport technology. Bruno holds a Master’s in Electrical Engineering from FEUP – University of Porto. He further enhanced his expertise by completing a business and management program at Carnegie Mellon University. In recognition of his achievements, Bruno was honored by Forbes in 2020, being named to the 30 Under 30 list in the Manufacturing & Industry category.

14h55-15h40 | Five-Minute Pitch for PhD Students

Please submit your application via the following link by May 30th. Up to seven 5-minute pitches will be selected for presentation at DCE25.