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Instituto Pedro Nunes (IPN) co-organised the event ‘Collaboration in Space: a UK-Portugal Dialogue’ with the British Embassy, held at the Vieira de Almeida (VdA) auditorium in Lisbon on 6 December 2024.
The event, which also included the collaboration of AED Cluster Portugal and VdA Vieira de Almeida, aimed to promote dialogue on the opportunities and challenges of the new space economy and how Portugal and the UK can work together to achieve more results.
The event began with a panel focussing on the New Space Economy: Opportunities and Challenges, moderated by Carolina Rodrigues, from NewSpace Portugal, and featuring André Guerra, from Connected, Joshua Western, from Space Forge, Ricardo Cabral, from Spotlite, and Bruno Carvalho, from the Atlantic Spaceport Consortium. The latter three, Connected, Spotlite and Atlantic Spaceport Consortium, are alumni of the ESA BIC Portugal programme, managed by IPN. This panel discussed how British and Portuguese companies are taking advantage of the immense opportunities of the new space economy and the challenges that arise in this process, highlighting the importance of space technologies for global connectivity, advanced data analysis and innovative manufacturing opportunities.
The second panel focussed on the experiences of entrepreneurs from both countries, addressing how international collaboration is essential to boost innovation and strategic investments in the space sector. Moderated by Rui Santos, from AED Cluster Portugal, this panel included Rafel Jorda Siquier, from Open Cosmos, Rodrigo Pascoal, from Critical Software, Pedro Rodrigues, from Tekever, and Ivo Vieira, from Lusospace.
The event also featured keynote speeches by Nigel Boud, from the British Embassy in Lisbon, Hugo Costa, from Portugal Space, Jessica Fell, from UK Space, and Emir Sirage, from NewSpace Portugal, who emphasised the importance of the space economy in Portugal and the role of the NewSpace Agenda for the growth of the sector in the country.
The event was an opportunity to strengthen relations between the UK and Portugal in the field of space and promote collaboration between companies, institutions and government bodies.