Beyond Values & Variables: Data Science & Big Data

On February 27th, the Proef Group and the CCG/ZGDV Institute, as promoters of the AI-CENTER Testbed, organised the event "Beyond Values & Variables: Data Science & Big Data". This initiative took place in the Noble Auditorium of the University of Minho, in Guimarães and was attended by 28 of the 31 Partners of the National Testbed Network. "Data Science" and "Big Data" were the main topics of discussion.

The opening ceremony featured speeches by Engineer Ricardo J. Machado - President of the CCG/ZGDV Institute and Miguel Barbosa - Managing Director of NEXT Innovation & Ventures at Proef, who, after welcoming the attendees, presented the AI Center's innovation and acceleration programme for Portuguese startups and SMEs, available for consultation on the project's website. They were followed by Dr Domingos Bragança - Mayor of Guimarães City Council and Professor Eugénio Campos Ferreira - Vice-Rector of the University of Minho, who highlighted the relevance and importance of the topic for Portuguese companies.  Once the reception was over, the themed workshop began, followed by the Showroom dedicated to demonstrating the services and pilot products of the 28 Testbeds in attendance.

In the words of Miguel Barbosa, "Beyond Values & Variables: Data Science & Big Data", organised by the AI-CENTER Testbed, exceeded expectations, and provided an opportunity to show the advantages of the digital transition and encourage companies to speed up the time to market with the use of technology. The promotion of operational cost reduction and process optimisation attracted the attention of the participants, given that in an increasingly competitive business world, companies are trying to keep up with digital evolution. This event, held in Guimarães, sought to meet these needs by showcasing innovative centres that develop infrastructures to support development in a flexible environment that adapts to the needs of each national company looking for effective technical mentoring to become a reference in the market.

About the Testbeds and the AI-CENTER:

AI-CENTER supports startups and SMEs in accelerating the innovation cycle, significantly reducing the time-2-market of new products and services with a strong digital component, acting according to the philosophy: "Sparking, Innovating, Matching":

• Sparking: Acting as a catalyst for ideas, it provides know-how and technological mentoring using a highly qualified team;
• Innovating: We provide infrastructures to support software development in a flexible environment that adapts to the needs of each company;
• Matching: Member companies will also have access to the AI Centre platform, an AI-based marketplace which, through meticulous analysis of requirements and profiles, ensures companies can intelligently match their products and/or services with the needs of the market.

Find out more on the official website here.