Bernardo Saraiva, co-founder and director of World Talents, told Lusa, the objective is “to attract at least two million euros in the coming years for research and development, fostering active collaborations between international entrepreneurs and universities”.

The executive noted that “this estimate does not include the substantial, direct and additional investments expected for ‘startups’ in early stages of development, which will further drive innovation and economic growth.”

World Talent was founded in 2021 and is based in Portugal, working “on talent mobility initiatives in the university ecosystem”, said the platform, in a statement.

The entity has already established partnerships with the University of Coimbra, University of Algarve, Polytechnic of Setúbal, and others, and “through its Global Talent Portugal program, World Talents attracted around 80 entrepreneurs and companies to the country, with a total investment of approximately 2.8 million euros”.

According to Bernardo Saraiva, the initiative attracted “entrepreneurs and projects from industries such as artificial intelligence, 'software' development, renewable energy and biotechnology”, and, in addition, it has attracted “'startups' focused on sustainable development and digital solutions for traditional industries”.

“We bridge the gap between entrepreneurs and highly qualified individuals with university ecosystems,” he explained, indicating that the partnerships involve “not only direct investment in research and development at universities and incubators, but also a highly impactful knowledge transfer component, which has been invaluable to universities.”

Bernardo Saraiva highlighted the example of “an Indian entrepreneur with vast experience in creating and managing software companies who played a key role as a mentor at the University of Algarve” and who “directly supported local startups in their projects, sharing specialized knowledge and helping them to grow”.

The platform also reported another example that “he is a North American entrepreneur who currently runs a Nasdaq-listed company valued at approximately US$700 million” and “a Japanese entrepreneur who has worked to promote academic exchange between Japan and Portugal ”.

World Talents has now signed a partnership with the University of Évora, through the Global Talent Portugal program.