University of Coimbra entrepreneurship ecosystem produced it first startup around 1993, and since then, many other spin-offs and startups have aroused from it. Although we have successful and unsuccessful stories of multiple projects, all based in the passion of young entrepreneurs, we want to share a small story of a specific startup.
Among the multiple spin-offs and startups that were born among the University ecosystem, in 1998, a small startup, based on three PhD researchers, named Critical Software, helped construct the Europe Union as we know it today. The year was 2004 and the expansion of the European Union with the admission of ten new members, namely Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, was faced with a challenge, as the second version of the Schengen Information Service (SIS) is not yet completed. As this new version has not yet been developed - which was postponing the entry into this area of free movement of people from these countries that joined the European Union in 2004, the Portuguese border authority worked locally to find a solution with Critical Software, to, based on the current version, allow the inclusion of new countries. Overall, more than 72 million people, inhabitants of these countries, were impacted by a single Coimbra startup with no more than 6 years at that time.
Now, Critical Software has more than 1000 employees, present in 10 industry areas and with 10 offices, although all started at University of Coimbra.

Entrepreneurship is well embedded in the leader of our university, as the Rector was one of the researchers involved in the first Portuguese drug, and since then as always stimulate the actively engagement of all community to every prize, every challenge, every opportunity. In the internal metamorphosis of the Technology Transfer Office, UC Business project was born in 2019, in continuity with the previous offices in the logic of an integrated, proactive and efficient service, with an added aim of minimizing the distance between researchers and business sector, improving communication and enhancing synergies. UC Business is currently the interface between academia and the business sector. It aggregates competences in different fields, such as setting up consortia, supporting staff in the provision of specialized services and management of intellectual property, encouraging the creation of spin-offs, boosting entrepreneurship programs and promoting innovation. The affirmation of University of Coimbra as a pillar of entrepreneurship sector, boosting Center region, is the challenge that moves us, based on decades of experience and with potential that we know how to achieve. Thus, more than developing internal programs, the University of Coimbra is actively involved with local partners at regional, national and international level in different stages of entrepreneurship, both leading and being a partner, promoting the socio-economic development of the innovation ecosystem, involving the whole academic community.

Although the ecosystem of University of Coimbra includes 5 specialized incubators, we are working to stablish student hubs in each university campus, as it is divided by 5 areas in the city of Coimbra. These student hubs will allow the students to have 24/7 access to an office where they can develop the entrepreneurial projects, at a pre-incubation phase. At this moment, only the main campus is equipped with this solution. Furthermore, efforts are being done to include entrepreneur disciplines in bachelor and master degrees in faculties, like law and sports, that do not have it yet, increasing the student and researcher’s capacity for further develop entrepreneur projects. Alongside these strategies, specific capacity building programs for teachers and administrative personal centred in entrepreneur thinking will be implement, in order to help stablish the entrepreneurial thinking across all university. Another feature that we will continue provide, in a 2 year base, to the national entrepreneur community is the Startup Capital Summit. Following the 2019 experience, with 300 participants, the 2022 edition reach out to 1200 participants, as the biggest specific event of its kind in Portugal, as it differs from Websummit due to specificity of subject. For these, recent European successful project application to the call 2 of EIT HEI Initiative, together with the recognition by Triple E Awards, will boost our motivation and capacity to convince the university leadership in investing even more in the identified needs. We are counting on your contributions to our success!