On January 26, the Industry Day of the long-term national research programme BioPhoT will take place at the House of Science of the University of Latvia Academic Centre in Riga. The event will bring together researchers, industry representatives, investors, and innovation ecosystem stakeholders to explore BioPhoT-funded research projects, prototypes, and their practical application potential, as well as to initiate new collaboration projects between academia and industry.
The event will see representatives of fields like biomedicine, medical technologies, pharmaceuticals, photonics, smart materials, technologies, and engineering systems. It offers a particularly valuable opportunity for researchers and academic staff seeking to increase the visibility of their research, gain a deeper understanding of industry needs, and develop cooperation with companies and investors.
The Industry Day programme will feature presentations by Latvian and international experts on successful collaboration models between science and industry, knowledge transfer, and the commercialisation of research results. Speakers include:
Alexander Cywes, Partnerships Coordinator, Hello Tomorrow
Jakub Jasiczak, Chairman of the Polish Association of University Knowledge Transfer Companies
Toivo Maimets, Professor at the University of Tartu and President of the Alliance4Life consortium
Céline Carrera, Education Director, EIT Health
The programme will be complemented by a panel discussion titled “What Hinders Successful Collaboration Between Industry and Academia?”, featuring Raivis Bremšmits, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economics, alongside representatives from industry and academia, including Māris Turks, Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technologies at Riga Technical University, Anna Ramata-Stunda, Co-founder and CEO of Alternative Plants, Vitālijs Skrīvelis, Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Association of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurs, and other experts.
During thematic parallel sessions, companies and organisations such as Labrains, Olpha, Kinetics Research Foundation, LMT, and the Latvian Security and Defence Industries Federation will share their technological and research challenges. Also, teams from several BioPhoT platform projects will present their innovations to a panel of investors and industry experts, receiving feedback on further development and commercialisation opportunities.
In the biomedicine, medical technology, and pharmaceutical session, showcased solutions will include:
a sink-integrated disinfection device for limiting antibiotic-resistant microorganisms
a compact and stable laser system for high-precision optical sensors and medical devices
a next-generation blood collection tube improving the safety of bone regeneration procedures
solutions for the safe cleaning and reuse of dental drills
an aptamer-based device for rapid malaria diagnostics
a non-invasive sweat analysis platform for detecting clinically significant biomarkers
In the photonics, smart materials, technologies, and engineering systems session, sustainable and industry-ready solutions will be presented, including:
technology for converting end-of-life tyre rubber into a smart additive for asphalt concrete
durable EMI shielding coatings for cybersecurity systems
a high-efficiency contactless heating system for metallurgy
next-generation photonic chips
luminescent coatings for early detection of damage in wind turbine blades
high-precision optical sensors for structural monitoring
smart packaging solutions for real-time monitoring of fresh seafood quality
The “Biomedical and Photonics Research Platform for Innovative Product Creation” (BioPhoT) is a long-term interdisciplinary research and innovation platform that brings together Latvia’s leading scientific institutions and universities. Its goal is to facilitate the transformation of scientific results into competitive, market-ready solutions.
