At a time when the discussion on Defence is gaining prominence in political agendas in Portugal and across Europe, Téc4Defence brought together for the first time research institutes connected to Instituto Superior Técnico, companies active on the sector, and the Armed Forces to debate the future of Defence and dual-use technologies (for both civilian and military purposes).

The event, organised by several student groups of Técnico with the objective of strengthening the role of science and engineering in National Defence and integration at European level, featured a full programme of roundtables, company pitches, debates, and technological solutions in development, including demonstrations of real prototypes with practical applications. 

 In the exhibition area, the INESC-ID stand had a strong presence with a team of volunteers from the High-Performance Computing Architectures and Systems (HPCAS) scientific area. Researchers Ricardo Chaves, Nuno Neves, José Antunes, Pedro Martins, and Manuel Goulão, demonstrated an encryption system for military networks and shared information on two European projects: SEQURED (see article), which develops innovative solutions to protect data from public and private organisations against future quantum-enabled cyberattacks.; and ORQESTRA, which focuses on integrating post-quantum cryptography technologies into real defence systems. 

Throughout the day, our stand welcomed students, representatives of the Armed Forces, and industry professionals interested in the work carried out at our institute. The exhibition area also featured demonstrations from other research institutes, including INESC-MN, the Institute for Plasmas and Nuclear Fusion (IPFN), and the Institute for Systems and Robotics (ISR), alongside tech companies and the Navy, Air Force, and Army. Together, we showcased work in areas such as security, UAVs, advanced materials, telecommunications, surveillance, and microelectronics.

See the photo gallery below.

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