In 2021, the University of Porto has once again led the study on the international patenting activity of inventions originating in Portugal. The University of Minho came in second place, and Coimbra, in third.


In 2021, the universities of the North of Portugal remain dominant, compared to 2020, the relative positions in the ranking of the Gastão da Cunha Ferreira Indicator (IGCF) are kept up to the fifth position.


In the study, concerning the years 2017-2021, U.Porto only didn’t lead the ranking in 2020, being overtaken by its counterpart, the University of Minho. Considering these last five years, the Porto higher education institution leaves its most direct competition behind (Minho and Coimbra) at a large distance.


Created and published for the first time in 2014, the IGCF is a study on the international patenting activity of inventions originating in Portugal. The study analyses the innovation produced in Portuguese companies and universities, essential to enhance the scientific and technological development of the country.


This is still one of the biggest challenges in the Portuguese national innovation system – transferring technology produced in the academic environment to industry, so that new and high in knowledge processes and products, protected by patents as a safeguard of exclusivity, are produced.

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    Last updated 2022-12-06