N.2 SEPTEMBER.2011
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES BIOTECHNOLOGIES AND HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES TROPICAL TECHNOLOGIES
INDEX
IMPRINT
EDITORIAL OEIRAS VALLEY
PAGE 02
INTERVIEW ROFF
PAGE 04
WORKSHOPS TROPICAL TECNOLOGIES
PAGE 07
INTERVIEW GENIBET
PAGE 08
ARTICLE DMIR
PAGE 10
INTERVIEW GROUP JOAQUIM CHAVES
PAGE 12
NEWS IGC
PAGE 15
ARTICLE VISION-BOX
PAGE 16
ARTICLE MAEIL
PAGE 18
Prof. José Tribolet Vice-President, ATECOEIRAS
OEIRAS VALLEY Information and Communication Technologies, Biotechnologies and Health Technologies, Tropical Technologies Nº2 | Month September | Year 2011 Periodicity Quarterly
Mário Oliveira Adminstrator
Teresa Alves CEO
ISSN 2182-0295 EDITOR AITECOEIRAS DIRECTION Luís Todo Bom COORDINATION José Manuel Tribolet Guilherme Arroz
ADDRESS Rua da Fundição de Oeiras, Edif. CMO, Oeiras, Portugal PHOME (+351) 214 221 020 FAX (+351) 214 221 028 E-MAIL magazine@aitec-oeiras.pt www.aitec-oeiras.pt www.oeirasvalley.com
Prof. Pável Calado
Francisco Chaves Marketing and Communications Direction
Hugo Duarte da Fonseca Managing Partner
Issue N.2 | September | 2011
02
EDITORIAL . OEIRAS VALLEY
OEIRAS VALLEY DIGITAL STRATEGY FROM CHRYSALIS TO BUTTERFLY: THE CHALLENGES OF OPERATING IN THE NEW DIGITAL WORLD
Oeiras Valley The main goal of AITECOEIRAS is to carry out activities of internationalization, promotion and business development in Oeiras in order to encourage increased foreign investment, productivity and competitiveness, while assuming the role of facilitator of new business ventures in the municipality. The action of the Agency is developed in accordance with the agreed Strategic Program of Activities for 2011. Oeiras Valley is the strategic concept that should be understood as an “Integrated Region of Development, supported by knowledge-intensive units. We are focused on three Clusters: Information and Communication Technologies, Biotechnology and Health Technologies and Tropical Technologies. Perfect conditions exist in these clusters for their establishment on an international level, promoting unparalleled employment, quality of life and work environment”. This editorial will address the current situation of the relationship between digital networks and Oeiras Valley and the emergence of strong points for the definition of a digital strategy for Oeiras that supports the dynamics of the main stakeholders' synergies. AGÊNCIA DE DESENVOLVIMENTO DE OEIRAS
Issue N.2 | September | 2011
EDITORIAL . OEIRAS VALLEY
Contributory factors for a Digital Strategy AITECOEIRAS assists Oeiras Valley via its website www.aitec-oeiras.pt which is a worthy, humble and purely informative site, in line with the rigorous and accurate management style of this Agency. Certainly there is room for improvement but always as a proportional result of effort versus achievement. The Oeiras Valley site (http://www.oeirasvalley.com/) is in its initial phase. We're working on it little by little in our rigorous management style. The current online version, which illustrates the essential strategic concept of the Oeiras Valley, intends to gather, sort and display information describing the stakeholders in Oeiras. This new virtual reality is to be conceived, built and displayed in real-time, with transparency, realism and humility. This is not all that we want. However, it will be improved systematically. Obviously, the Oeiras Valley Portal is now a chrysalis that we hope to turn into a beautiful butterfly in a few years. It is about this butterfly that I want to speak, sharing the bits and pieces of this part of AITECOEIRAS's digital strategy. The close cooperation that exists between AITECOEIRAS and Taguspark (AITECOEIRAS President Luis Todo Bom and I are both non-executive members of Taguspark leadership) is articulated in policy documents approved by its top management. The digital strategies of each are being discussed and developed simultaneously and the rational and cooperative use of resources is being prepared for these purposes. Indeed, similar articulated processes and defining digital strategies are possible and desirable with other stakeholders such as Oeiras City Council but also with the main economic, social, cultural and public administration entities. The challenge is to interact with us, in order to create the dynamic Oeiras reality in the digital space as it is in the physical space.
Basic principles of architecture in the digital space For the first time, I'm stating some of the architectural principles of construction of this digital community space. The idea started with meshing Second Life, Farmville, Facebook et al, Twitter, Google everything, The Cloud, YouTube, etc. The oeirasvalley.com has a touch of innovation, location, game theory, cooperative working methods in open group, etc. I bet it will work! -In the digital space, digital entities will exist, representing in a dynamic and continuous way the same entities in the physical reality. Example: The Oeiras City Council is represented by the virtual Oeiras City Council which is responsible for the former. It is thus truly a virtual society in the digital world, coexisting with independent entities in accordance with the community rules of this "Oeiras Valley" society. -The topology and the rules of communication between these entities, within the Oeiras Valley Portal, are set and monitored by the site administration. -Any legitimate activity developed through this site shall conform to the strategic objectives of the development of Oeiras, as conveyed in the AITECOEIRAS Strategic Plan. -The design and development of these concepts and reality – this is the emergence of the butterfly - must be done in an open way, pointing towards a social, cultural and technological innovation, in particular by those entities that identify with Oeiras and its strategy, nationally and internationally.
In conclusion This text is an editorial and therefore constrained by space. I regret that I cannot write more. At least it will whet your appetite! Those of you who read this and become intrigued, please use the contacts available on the AITECOEIRAS and Oeiras Valley websites and ask questions, make suggestions and give us some feedback. If you want to raise butterflies, step forward! There is always room for more. Prof. JosĂŠ Tribolet, Vice-President, ATECOEIRAS |
Issue N.2 | September | 2011
03
04
INTERVIEW . ROFF
ROFF
INSPIRATION . CHANGE . TOGETHER
INTERVIEW MÁRIO OLIVEIRA ADMINISTRATOR
As the Portuguese market leader in implementing SAP solutions, ROFF runs consultancy projects in all technological areas of business support. With a staff of 500 and offices in Lisbon, Porto, Covilhã, Paris, Luanda and Stockholm, ROFF was the first SAP partner operating in Portugal to cater for the SME market as well as for large Portuguese and multinational companies. ROFF is a Gold Channel Partner and Services Partner. ROFF's strategy for the international markets is based on placing high-performing local resources in teams representing the best of Portuguese human capital. This investment has resulted in the organisation's sustained growth and has made a strong contribution to the trust that all the company's clients place in Portuguese talent. In 2008, ROFF became part of the Reditus Group, thus forming one of the three largest Portuguese groups in the IT industry.
Since its emergence in 1996, ROFF trod a path of growth in the size and development of its activities. Can you name those that, in the company's current viewpoint, are the key milestones? The genesis of the company as an agency of independent consultants was crucial to forging two realities that we consider fundamental to the success achieved so far: customer focus, sparing no efforts in their satisfaction; and camaraderie, mutual support and the truly unique ROFF spirit that the employees share - characteristics that we hold up to today. Another fundamental milestone was the strategic direction we have set and achieved in 2006 with the opening of offices in Angola, and shortly afterwards in France. This determination opened the doors of internationalisation, recently strengthened by the opening of another office in Sweden. In less than half a decade, more than half of our turnover started coming from the international market. On the other hand, we were able to maintain a posture of anticipation in the face of competition with respect to a set of formatted services that we established on several levels: maintenance, development and implementation. Since 2004, these allowed us to increasingly focus on raising the quality of services and reduce deployment costs for our clients. This action led not only to the gain of market share in Portugal, but also to the achievement of international clients.
ROFF has an image of consulting firm specialized in a target market of small and medium companies and linked to a specific product, SAP. Does the company assume this profile, or are there other aspects that you would like to highlight? ROFF’s activity has always focused on working closely with our strategic partner, SAP. In SAP consulting we were in the group of pioneers and were able to team up with the best, which led us to be the main partner of this company in Portugal. We remain convinced that the range of SAP solutions is still the best way for much of the modern business environment to ensure the feasibility and prosperity of their businesses. In this sense, your statement is true, however when it comes to ROFF’s target market, the market for small and medium-sized businesses is just one of our priorities, in reality only about a third of the total turnover comes from the VAR channel (Value Added Reseller), the remaining two thirds from large companies and multinationals. Our international sales are made almost exclusively to large companies.
Issue N.2 | September | 2011
INTERVIEW . ROFF
ROFF is now a sizeable company with significant presence in international markets including France, Angola and, more recently, the Nordic countries. Which is the way towards internationalisation and what is its weight on the company? In recent years ROFF has invested significantly in innovating in the way it performs its services. For this innovation, competitive deployment and support models emerged for the market-based remote services, aggregation of skills, development of re-usables and tools / methodologies that enable greater efficiency and quality in our services. Our internationalisation has been supported by a local presence complemented by this set of services, mostly remote. This approach allows us to be competitive in terms of cost and quality. Our success with this approach has allowed us to progressively gain new customers. At the moment, in our three Portuguese locations (Algés, Porto and Covilhã), we provide services 24x7x365 on 4 continents. When these services reach critical mass or big opportunities arise, the opening of a local representation follows it, so we can be closer to clients. There are several geographies that are close to reaching that point due to which ROFF is anticipating the opening of new branches outside of Portugal this year. Anyway, the opening of offices is not a mandatory condition for our expansion to other countries. In 2010, the international market accounted for 54% of ROFF’s turnover. Despite ROFF’s growth in the domestic market, the percentage of international turnover has been growing significantly in recent years.
ROFF is integrated in the Reditus group. What are the strategic benefits of this integration? All those that result from being part of one of the largest groups operating in the IT area in Portugal and the notoriety achieved through its listing on the stock market.
Recently ROFF was considered the best Portuguese company to work in, by the study of the Great Place to Work Institute. What is your view on the importance of this award and what were the internal management options that led to it? This result fills us all with pride and makes us even more united and committed to the growth of this company. We consider it essential for the company’s productivity that our employees be motivated in their workplace. It is an effort that ends up having a great return, which is important to see recognized in this study. This evaluation is important to continue to improve our competitiveness and growth in the domestic and international markets. To achieve such a distinction it is necessary to embark on policies that provide effective welfare for our employees, something we’ve always done. Among these measures are: the strengthening of credibility, respect and impartiality of management and administration, and various initiatives that strengthen team spirit and camaraderie, which work very well, in a company with a relaxed spirit, but always responsible, as ROFF is.
Issue N.2 | September | 2011
«ROFF elected the Best Portuguese Company to Work For in Portugal.» ROFF was considered the Best Portuguese Company to Work For in 2011, according to the study carried out by the Great Place to Work Institute.
05
06
INTERVIEW . ROFF
ROFF is located in the Oeiras County, a municipality that has sought to attract the best companies in the areas of advanced technologies. In the company's vision, does it make sense to promote the ICT cluster in the context of the Oeiras Valley concept? And how do you think ROFF can enter this cluster with advantages for itself and for the cluster? Absolutely. The International experience is clearly in favour of such initiatives that appear to contribute to the exchange of experiences and the establishment of symbiotic relationships between organizations. In international markets the collaboration between Portuguese companies is very important in order to pass to clients an idea of the overall competence of the country. Please note that ROFF, on its international adventure, has already leveraged other Portuguese companies through references in customers. The perspective of international promotion advocated by the cluster interests us enormously, because this is the company's strategic direction. The cluster can count on ROFF with regards to the intransigent defence of the Portuguese quality of intelligence and cooperation in the markets where we operate.
How do you see ROFF’s future, taking into account the environment of national and international crisis we are experiencing? The average values practiced in SAP Consulting’s domestic market decreased, as well as the number of new implementations. ROFF has managed to increase its activity supported by innovative services that, while guaranteeing quality, achieve greater cost efficiency.
CERTIFICATIONS AND AWARDS - Company certified under ISO 9001:2008; - Company cleared up to NATO Secret; - SAP Business All-in-One Largest Partner 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 (SAP Iberia); - Best Marketing 2010 (SAP Iberia); - 5th Best company in the Excellence at Work award 2010/11, Económico Newspaper; - Best Portuguese company (ranked 4th) 2011, 2011, by the GPTW Institute; - Municipal Gold Medal for Merit (Oeiras Municipal Council); - Winner in the "Investment" category at the Portuguese-French Trophy Awards.
However, we realize that this growth of ROFF does not express the general market; the pressure on margins and consultancy and the average payment terms has worsened considerably. In fact, the average payment terms in conjunction with the limitation of the existing credit in the banks, is paralysing business activity. In the international market the prevailing values in our service area, though stagnant, are significantly higher, favouring our competitiveness. Anyway, we sense that in international markets the price factor is not as decisive at the time of acquisition of such services, as it is regarding the attention to quality of service, with a substantially higher weight. As the perception and feedback we've been getting from our customers on the international level of competence and proficiency of our professionals has been very positive, we have not been sensing the so-famous atmosphere of general crisis.
PORTUGAL CONTACTS ROFF LISBOA Torre de Monsanto Rua Afonso Praça, 30 15º, 1495-061 Algés T: (+351) 21 839 34 10 F: (+351) 21 859 24 56I ROFF PORTO Rua de Álvares Cabral, 259 4050-041 Porto T: (+351) 21 839 34 30 F: (+351) 22 208 00 79 ROFF COVILHÃ Parkurbis Parque da Ciência e Tecnologia da Covilhã 6200-865 Covilhã Website www.roffconsulting.com
Issue N.2 | September | 2011
WORKSHOP . TROPICAL TECNOLOGIES
WORKSHOPS TROPICAL TECNOLOGIES
Techniques for the Organization and Management in Tropical Environment
On the 22nd of February, the 2nd workshop of the cycle dedicated to the cluster of Tropical Technologies entitled «Techniques for the Organization and Management in Tropical Environment» took place at the Congress Centre in Lagoas Park. Promoted and organized by AITECOEIRAS, this cycle is presented through the words of its President, Luis Todo Bom, «as a gatherer of knowledge in Tropical Technology, both in terms of the Municipality of Oeiras and at a national level». Thus, one can see that Portugal has a huge potential of knowledge of this cluster, and specifically with regard to the techniques of organization and management in tropical environments through university teaching, Research Centres and Companies. It is precisely in university teaching and Research Centres that there is also a strong potential for further enlargement and specialization of this tropical level of knowledge from the structures already operating. Examples of this, in the municipality of Oeiras, are: the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), the Atlântica University, the Nautical School Infante D. Henrique and the Geo-information Centre for Development, of the Institute of Scientific and Tropical Research. Similarly, there are research entities like the Centre for Management Studies of IST and the National Institute of Administration who may also be adapted to the tropical reality. Likewise, from a business standpoint, one can already set up the basic technologies used for the study of organization and management techniques in these latitudes: Operations, Information Systems, Human Resources, Legal/Fiscal and Administrative. By screening the 99 companies in the country working in this area it was concluded that 26 were screened in Oeiras and that, both nationally and in the municipality of Oeiras, the base technology of information systems is prevalent. In the opinion of Luis Todo Bom, one concludes: «the Tropical Technologies Cluster plays a catalytic role, based on knowledge provided by universities and research centres and on the needs of companies that want to internationalise to Africanspeaking countries». The workshop had four thematic panels dedicated to the topic «Logistics, transport and distribution of goods and fleet management», «The importance of ICT in relocation and in the management of businesses», «Managing Human Resources in multicultural staff» and also «Business Partnerships: Model in Tropical Environment» which were made up of speakers representing multinational companies of reference. The presentations are available at http://www.aitec-oeiras.pt/tecnologiastropicais/tecnicas-de-organizacao-e-gestao
UPCOMING WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 22th . 2011 3rd WORKSHOP
Construction and Building Materials in a Tropical Environment
Registration and program available at: www.aitec-oeiras.pt/tecnologiastropicais
Issue N.2 | September | 2011
07
08
INTERVIEW . GENIBAT
GENIBET BIOPHARMACEUTICALS INTERVIEW TERESA ALVES
CEO
Genibet has recently emerged as a company entered in the biopharmaceutical sector. What services does the company offer and what is its strategy statement on international markets - key markets for the company? GenIbet is a biopharmaceutical CMO (Contract Manufacturing Organization). It produces, under contract, biopharmaceutical substances that will be used in preclinical tests or in phase I and II clinical trials. As a biotechnology company it uses bacterial cells, animal cells or viruses to produce the active ingredient wanted. This production requires the fulfillment of Good Manufacturing Practices and Quality principles that are common to the biopharmaceutical industry. Together with IBET (Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica), GenIbet can also develop production processes for its clients. GenIbet’s clients are pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies with new biopharmaceutical medicines, as well as research groups that work in areas like advanced therapies. In the initial phase of its activity, the company is focused on the European market.
GenIbet arises with basis on the previous experience of its staff at IBET. Four of the five current projects are conducted in collaboration with IBET. What is the current relationship between the two organizations and to what extent do they complement each other? The shareholders of GenIbet are ANF, IBET, Inovcapital, Medinfar, Nutrinveste and Tecnifar. IBET is the main shareholder of GenIbet. The activities of the two organizations are complementary. IBET is an internationally recognized institute for its applied research in areas that are very relevant to the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries. By joining efforts, GenIbet and IBET make their service offer wider, more complete and of greater added value to its clients and partners.
Genibet facilities and equipment are already used in a significant percentage of their capacity or may they support further growth of the business? GenIbet is currently constructing new production units to be able to enter markets even more innovative than those where it already operates. By the end of June, with the new units in operation GenIbet will enter the advanced therapies market and will also have a fill and finish unit. In this way, GenIbet will grow its business activity.
Issue N.2 | September | 2011
INTERVIEW . GENIBAT
Genibet is a company with a very small number of employees. Is the short-term strategy to grow or maintain its activity based on the connection to IBET? GenIbet has a team of ten people and with the new units in operation there will be a need for highly specialized staff in different and highly sophisticated areas. However, to remain competitive and due to the type of operations, by campaign, GenIbet must keep a light structure. Flexibility in our business is essential due to the very high operational costs. Our relationship with IBET is and will be relevant in what concerns scientific support and in the complementarity of services.
Genibet, has had a significant collaboration with the ‘Nova’ University of Lisbon. The installation of the Laboratory of bioengineering of stem cells and regenerative medicine of the IST is in its final stage, in Taguspark. Do you foresee the establishment of some sort of collaboration with this entity? We are located in the building of the Pilot plant of IBET. IBET has a very close relationship and is located in the same building as the Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica (ITQB) of Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL). GenIbet is the only Portuguese biopharmaceutical CMO and it is aware of the responsibility associated with this fact. Genibet is most interested in working with all the national research groups and companies that may need our services and experience. It is sensible to join efforts, reduce investment and share resources. On the other hand, over time, IBET has had a close relationship with Taguspark.
Genibet is located in the Oeiras County, a municipality where there is a significant cluster in the area of biotechnology and health technologies. Has this been important for setting up Genibet in Oeiras? What paths does Genibet foresee for the development of this cluster? GenIbet generated from IBET and IBET is located in Oeiras. IBET, together with two other institutes located in Oeiras, ITQB and Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, form an Associate Laboratory to the Ministry of Science and Technology, with over 800 researchers. GenIbet hopes to be able to contribute to strengthen this cluster with its highly specialized team, looking for local suppliers, whenever possible and establishing a rich network.
What are the main objectives for the next five years? GenIbet wants to be recognized in the European market for the quality of its service and for the excellence in relevant scientific areas.
PORTUGAL CONTACTS GENIBET LISBOA Edifício da Unidade Piloto do IBET Estação Agronómica Nacional Avenida da República 2780-157 Oeiras T: (+351) 21 446 94 84 F: (+351) 21 446 94 80 E-mail: info@genibet.com Website www.genibet.com
Issue N.2 | September | 2011
09
10
ARTICLE . DMIR
ARTICLE " FROM DATA TO INFORMATION, FROM INFORMATION TO KNOWLEDGE " BY PROF. PÁVEL CALADO
DMIR DATA MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION RETRIEVAL GROUP AT INESC-ID
Any activity in any sector of society generates data. And to speak of data, today, in which computer systems are ubiquitous, is to speak of digital data. In fact, all human, industrial, artistic, scientific and even personal production is increasingly represented somewhere by a set of bits. Numbers, images, sounds and documents are interconnected inside servers, networks and personal computers, occupying a volume that is estimated in more than 800 billion gigabytes (about 800 exabytes) [1]. Clearly, non-trivial amounts of data bring non-trivial problems. Problems such as: to find and manipulate data in repositories containing millions of records, or how to ensure data quality, making sure there are no errors or inconsistencies, or even: how to process such data if these are not static, but come on stream coming, for example, from electronic sensors in urban transports. The search for answers to such questions has moved resources since the 70's, both in industry and in academy, and is now, more than ever, the focus of researchers and large corporations around the world [2]. However, gigabytes within the servers of a company are useless if you cannot learn something about their operation, or about the needs of their customers. Thousands of medical records are useless if we cannot discover new drugs, new therapies or even new ways of managing a hospital. It is useless to store years of scientific observations if they fail to predict hurricanes, or launch a spacecraft into space. In short, the data are useless if we cannot transform them into information. Extracting information from large amounts of data is thus a fundamental task in the digital world in which we live. But any solution in this direction can bring us new and more complex problems. In fact, the amount of information possible to get is, in itself, of such volume that its application becomes non-trivial. Once more, information is useless if we cannot organize it and make it available, or even use it to infer new information. In short, information is useless if we cannot transform it into knowledge. To study these problems and develop innovative solutions in the various scientific fields that intersect them, the Data Management and Information Retrieval Group (DMIR) was set up. DMIR is a group of researchers integrated at INESC-ID [3] and dedicated to exploring areas such as auditing of data quality, data cleansing, searching and extracting information from large databases of documents, processing geo-referenced information, ontology and knowledge engineering, and the Semantic Web. The group consists of Professor Helena Sofia Pinto, current coordinator, and Professors Bruno Martins, Helena Galhardas, Paulo Carreira and Pável Calado. Its facilities are located in the Tagus Park campus of the Instituto Superior Técnico [4] and at INESC-ID, in Lisbon. In addition to fundamental research, its location at both poles has facilitated the contact with companies in the region, thus allowing the development of solutions for issues directly related to problems that affect the day-to-day of organizations. One area of research and application that the group has dedicated itself to is data cleaning. This activity consists in the conversion of a set of data with quality problems such as misspellings, inconsistencies, etc. into destination data with a level of quality suitable for the applications that manipulate them. The task of data cleaning is critical in the context of data warehousing and data migration and integration. In this sense, the DMIR group has improved the AJAX system [5] for relational data cleaning. Its main features are: that it allows the cleaning process to be represented visually as a graph of transformations; the ability to automatically optimise the cleaning process; and the possibility of user-assisted debugging. The latter is particularly useful, given that such processes typically accept as input a
Issue N.2 | September | 2011
«DMIR is a group of researchers integrated at INESC-ID and dedicated to exploring areas such as auditing of data quality, data cleansing, searching and extracting information from large databases of documents, processing georeferenced information, engineering and ontology and knowledge of the Semantic Web.»
ARTICLE . DMIR
command and control of a building. The main goal of this project is to make this control fully automatic, based on information collected from sensors, and thus significantly increase energy efficiency. At this time, a first version of the software was created in collaboration with the company Sislite Ltd, which is installed in various department stores.
large volume of data, making it virtually impossible to specify transformations that are able to treat all its instances in a fully automatic manner. Over last two years, DMIR has also invested in XML data cleaning. Given the availability of an increasing amount of information on the Web, whose format is mostly HTML or XML, it becomes increasingly important to treat this type of data, which goes by the generic name of semi-structured data. In this area, DMIR has focuses its attention on two main issues. Firstly, sophisticated approaches based on automatic learning have been proposed and developed for the detection of duplicate information in XML documents. Secondly, a library of functions for data cleansing in XQuery the standard language for XML data interrogation - was developed in partnership with FLWOR Foundation [6]. Currently, programs for data cleaning are being developed in XQuery, to treat a real set of XML documents with bibliographic references and the group is expected to address problems associated with the efficiency of these programs in the near future.
Finally, the group has followed the recent developments of the so-called Web 2.0 and the Semantic Web, where the emphasis is on the platforms for sharing content between users, such as Facebook or Twitter. In the FolkPeers project DMIR tries to understand and improve the user experience in this type of systems, developing mechanisms for suggesting content or studying more intuitive ways to navigate through its resources. In addition, the group has studied the phenomena of influence and importance of users in social networks, analysing the way information is propagated, trying to understand and predict how these systems evolve and, in particular, what is the relationship between the dissemination of information and the importance of users. This last topic has particularly important applications in marketing and is increasingly a focus of interest for the industry.
Another of the core areas of the group is the search for relevant information in large repositories of textual documents, an area typically referred to as Information Retrieval (IR). An example is the SMARTIS project (Smarter Indexing and Search Schemes), currently underway, which aims to improve systems for Information Retrieval, through the use of techniques capable of recognizing concepts and using the semantics of words. To illustrate, the idea would be to make systems like Google capable of understanding if the word "Jaguar" was used in the context of motor vehicles or in connection with wildlife.
In conclusion, all ongoing projects at DMIR cover scientific areas that have a high impact on problems faced by society and by organizations. Also, they are the first step towards a future where intelligent systems will be able to navigate through the turmoil of information that surrounds us, selecting, organizing and presenting only that which is essential to help us make decisions and, consequently, to act upon the world. In sum, DMIR hopes to contribute to a future in which the so-called information overload will no longer be a problem [7].
Along similar lines, but focused on geo-referenced information processing, project SInteliGIS (Intelligent Systems for Geographic Information Processing) was launched this year. In it, technologies of geo-referenced information processing are studied, which are able to handle non-conventional sources of information such as web pages or blog entries. The project aims at extending some of the standards currently associated with Geographic Information Systems on the Web, in order to deal with problems such as assigning geographic coordinates to places mentioned in texts. The SInteliGIS project also involves the collaboration of the Large-Scale Informatics Systems Laboratory (LaSIGE, at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon), the Portuguese Geographic Institute, and the company Novageo Solutions. Information management techniques are also being implemented to increase energy efficiency in intelligent buildings. An intelligent building is equipped with a set of sensors of temperature, light, and occupation, among others. These generate data that, once analysed, can serve as a basis for making more rational management decisions on the various electrical appliances, such as lighting or the air conditioning system. The Lumina project was born from the need of creating a software application to perform centralized
REFERENCES [1] IDC Digital Universe Study, May 2010. [2] Han, J., Kamber, M. Data Mining: Concepts and Techniques, Morgan Kaufmann, 2001. [3] Institute of Computer Systems Engineering and Research and Development in Lisbon (http://www.inesc-id.pt/) [4] http://www.ist.utl.pt [5] Gallardas, H. Data Cleaning and Transformation Using the AJAX Framework, Generative and Transformational Techniques in Software Engineering, 2005. [6] http://www.flwor.com [7] Toffler, A. Future Shock, Bantam Publishers, 1984.
More information about the DMIR group can be found in http://dmir.inesc-id.pt
Issue N.2 | September | 2011
11
12
INTERVIEW . GJC
To the side Facade and seat of the clinic Group «Joaquim Chaves». Above Facade the radiotherapy unit «Quadrantes» of Group «Joaquim chaves» in Funchal and Santarém.
GJC GROUP JOAQUIM CHAVES INTERVIEW FRANCISCO CHAVES
Group Joaquim Chaves (GJC) has 50 years of history and is today a key player in the health sector in Portugal. What are the success factors? Group Joaquim Chaves was founded in 1959, and has 52 years of history. The focus on innovation and human resources of high personal and professional prestige are perhaps the most distinguishing factors for the successive successes that the Group has achieved. And all this, together with a vision of the founders - which the current administration has made every effort to preserve - of investing in the quality of service as a whole. All professionals who collaborate with the GJC (currently we have 970 employees at a national level) are helped to see in their service and in their contact with the users, the source of our reason for being and to face service excellence as the only way of being present in a market as sensitive as are private health facilities.
What are the services that GJC offers? Almost all services within the scope of exams for diagnosis and therapy, from clinical analysis, through imaging and onto nuclear medicine, specialty medical consultations, sports medicine (from diagnosis to therapy), dentistry, oncology (with special emphasis on the treatment of cancer patients using radiotherapy in its various components, including special techniques), and mental health (with an inpatient unit for patients of this type).
Issue N.2 | September | 2011
MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTION
It is known that the GJC has highly sophisticated and modern diagnostic equipment. Is the focus on high technology a continuing and long-term project? The permanent bet on the most advanced technologies is one of the centrepieces for the services provided, in order to always have great quality. Since its founding, the group has always planned to bet on the most effective and modern responses available on the international scene. 50 years ago Dr. Joaquim Chaves bet on developing various techniques in clinical analysis, permanently studying abroad and importing all the technology available at the time to his small laboratory. Today, his technical successors do exactly the same, adapted to the current times, and today, taking advantage of the example of the clinical analysis, Joaquim Chaves laboratory has a strong component of robotics in routine examinations, along with a clear stake in more differentiating areas such as molecular biology or genetics. We continue to believe that the pursuit for quality always relies on differentiation.
Oncology Centre Dr. Natália Chaves - GJC’s first unit of Radiotherapy - was a milestone in the fight against cancer at a national level when it opened in 2002. Is this disease a major focus of the GJC? What equipment of advanced technology do they have for this and other treatments?
INTERVIEW . GJC
The focus on the treatment of cancer patients came naturally at a time when we realized there was a clear lack of responsiveness in this sensitive area, both by public and private entities. In this unit, located in the county of Oeiras, there was, once again, a strong focus on acquiring the latest equipment at the time, as well as to hire highly qualified and experienced professionals (medical, technical and physical). Initially the unit was meant only for the treatment and was later adapted to serving the natural expansion of our nuclear medicine unit (operating in Miraflores, where Quadrantes headquarter was based on, also in Oeiras county), with the acquisition of PET-CT equipment (positron emission tomography technology associated with CT).
Equipment: 1 2100 CD Varian Accelerator 1 MMLC Varian Trilogy Accelerator with High-Definition 1 M3 BrainLab 1 Varis Source HDR 1 Acuity Simulator 1 PET/CT Siemens Biograph TRuepoint 6True V
One of GJC areas is Nuclear Medicine. What important steps have been taken in this matter?
Above facade of the oncology centre «Dr. Natália Chaves»
Aquadrantes (GJC’s clinical medical diagnosis and therapy), motivated by the realization that this was an area that depended on an improved ability to diagnose some important pathologies in oncology and cardiology, bet on this important area since a decade ago. Currently we have two gamma chambers in our diagnostic unit in Miraflores. Later, in a natural way, we evolved towards the acquisition of PET-CT equipment to improve the diagnosis and planning of patients of our unit in Carnaxide. The development of these areas of medicine - oncology and nuclear medicine – run in parallel, and the second allows for the diagnosis, planning, treatment and follow-up on cancer patients, better than in the past. Thus, we believe that it makes sense that, together with the development of our radiotherapy projects, there be a strong investment in nuclear medicine. For example, our Madeira unit, in Funchal, in addition to linear accelerators for radiation therapy, was equipped from the start with a new type of nuclear medicine equipment - a SPECT-CT camera.
In the lower . right Equipment of unit Radiotherapy
In the lower . left Robot Laboratory of the Group «Joaquim Chaves»
Next page . above Accelerator of the clinic «Quadrante» in Santarém PET/CT front view Digital machine of mammographies
Issue N.2 | September | 2011
13
14
INTERVIEW . GJC
The GJC is present in many cities in the country. Why are the main facilities of the GJC - in the greater Lisbon area – set up in Oeiras? When, about 20 years ago, we moved our headquarters to Miraflores, we quickly realized that we felt good in Oeiras. We were welcomed by official entities with whom we obviously had to relate with, and treated very well by the people who daily come to us in our different units and for the existing services. Starting from Oeiras, we grew in and out of the county, across the continent, already going out to the autonomous regions. Having a favourable market response to all the projects we have developed, it is only natural for us to choose to keep operating from where we are comfortable: good accessibility into and out of Lisbon, good relationship with its surroundings, good relationship with municipal services and optimal social situation.
The GJC was recently chosen to give medical assistance to athletes in the Portugal Rugby Youth Festival 2011 held in Oeiras. To what extent is the GJC involved in partnerships in this County? We have already participated in some incentives of this type in the past. More recently this was one with the great impact because it involved a large number of athletes, national and international, and enabled us to refine a model that we intend to have with some sports modalities through our unit of Sports Medicine (medical specialists and physiotherapists linked to sports). Recently we established a protocol with Sport Algés e Dafundo, a recognized "brand" in Oeiras and also in the national sports scene.
Is there a wish for the internationalisation of GJC? To which territories? We have some ideas under study and have had a few invitations in that sense, notably from Spain, Africa and Brazil. We are carefully evaluating the whole macroeconomic situation that we are living, to see if we will go ahead with it or not.
Oeiras is a county where there is a significant number of leading companies related to biotechnology. Is this an opportunity for potential partnerships for the GJC? We believe so. In fact, some partnerships have already been signed and we believe more will arise in the future. Both with
Issue N.2 | September | 2011
companies and universities in this area. GJC has always maintained a close relationship with agencies involved in teaching. We have a strong component of training related to higher education, both in their early postgraduate stage and in pre-licensure training. At this time, and within the county of Oeiras, we have links to the FMH and the "Atlântica" University.
What is GJC´s vision on Oeiras Valley as an Integrated Region of Development? It is a bold and innovative concept that demonstrates a longterm vision. As indeed it has become usual in this county. The Concept of Oeiras Valley, which may seem difficult to implement for those who want to see immediate results, is based on a culture of skill and opportunity: betting and attracting companies from outside the county (and abroad), presenting them with an irresistible invitation to settle in an area that is organized, accessible, close to a capital as a platform that connects us to Europe and the world. Simultaneously, and capitalizing on what is already being tried, and succeeded in many cases, it seeks to give opportunity to the companies that are already in Oeiras, inside and outside the business parks, to grow, to partner-up with neighbouring companies. Those companies attract talent, entrepreneurial human capital, which needs good infrastructure to be able to organize its life in the county. Oeiras already offers a lot, and can offer much more. The concept of Oeiras Valley, well defended by the CMO and worked on by organizations such as AITECOEIRAS, associated to the intelligent review that seems to be made within the PDM (Municipal Master Plan) of the municipality, will allow for coexistence among companies, social life, quality training, culture and inevitably creates development (economic, social and cultural).
NEWS . IGC
GULBENKIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE IN THE INTERNATIONAL TOP 10 FOR POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS «The Gulbenkian Institute of Science (IGC), headquartered in Oeiras, is, for the second consecutive year, ranked among the top 10 international research institutions for postdoctoral fellows to work.»
The Gulbenkian Institute of Science (IGC), headquartered in Oeiras, is, for the second consecutive year, ranked among the top 10 international research institutions for post-doctoral fellows to work. This is the result of a survey published annually by the magazine ‘‘The Scientist’’ whose results are determined by researchers working in institutions throughout the world. Only three institutions remained, from 2010 to 2011, in the top 10 of the wellknown science magazine, in which the IGC is the only Portuguese presence. As pointed out by António Coutinho, director of the IGC, the postdoctoral fellows «are extremely important for the scientific production of the research groups to which they belong, and to ensure the maintenance of healthy institutions». So, too, the years after the doctorate have a significant role in building the career of the researcher as a future leader in science. For Marie Bonnet, a French postdoctoral fellow, it is important for the independence of the researcher, that the research group's leaders trust the postdoctoral fellows: «I think, largely because of the recruitment process, the leaders of the research groups of IGC trust their post-doctoral fellows - which is really important to their independence - and are passionate about their work, are accessible and are anxious to share their knowledge, which is great for our guidance. The multidisciplinarity (at the IGC), allows me to "touch" other fields of research and collaborate with people with different experiences and knowledge at the same institution. In addition, the correct commitment between independence and guidance is a big help. Since I arrived, I am regularly confronted with new opportunities to acquire new skills and new responsibilities», she says. The IGC is a major centre for scientific research in Portugal. Funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the mission of the IGC is to conduct biomedical research and training. Currently, it hosts international research groups in a context of the most current forms of research together in an autonomous and stimulating environment. The IGC has, since January 2011, 83 postdoctoral fellows working in 46 research groups from different countries such as Germany, Angola, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Cuba, Denmark, Spain, United States, France, Greece, India, England, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, Romania and Sweden.
Issue N.2 | September | 2011
15
16
ARTICLE . VISION-BOX
VISION-BOX THE SUCCESSFUL INTERNATIONALISATION OF HIGH TECHNOLOGY «Vision-Box is one of the Portuguese companies in the sector of Communication and Information technologies with the highest international profile.»
Based in Oeiras, it was formed in 2001 as a spin-off of the National Institute of Engineering, Technology and Innovation (INETI), by a team of research and technological development with a wide experience of more than two decades in the field of Information Technology applied to electronic security. Vision-Box carries out the development of specific solutions for Biometrics and Computer Vision, with a solid base of engineering and a unique perspective on internationalisation and commercialisation of its products. Vision-Box divides its activity into two key areas that include electronic identity solutions based on biometric data collection and Smart e-Gates for border control, as well as intelligent solutions for the management of digital video and management of security systems. The ability to internationalise Vision-Box is already evident. With offices in countries such as South Africa, Germany, Brazil, Qatar and the United Kingdom, the projects that it takes on allow it to be a pioneer and world leader in biometric control systems for borders. The company won major contracts for the supply of its solutions throughout the world. From Europe to South America, Vision-Box’s solutions are used today by more than 3 million people worldwide as part of the daily lives of passengers that circulate through the most important international airports. With a turnover that in 2009 exceeded 7 million Euros, Vision-Box stood out in extremely innovative national and international projects. Among them, and in the Portuguese context, it is worth mentioning the development and implementation of systems for collecting biometrics for the Portuguese Electronic Passport (PEP) and the Citizen Card, with over 1000 units in operation all over the world, as well as the development and supply of the automatic system for border control with about 100 RAPID smart gates currently in operation at international airports in Portugal. In the United Kingdom, between 2008 and 2009, it developed the first system of electronic smart gates for biometric verification of identity outside of Portugal, at Manchester Airport, and provided the system of border control in airports such as Gatwick, Luton, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff and East Midlands. At the airport in Helsinki, Finland, and the Simon Bolivar airport in Maiquetia - Venezuela, it introduced the same technology.
Issue N.2 | September | 2011
ARTICLE . VISION-BOX
More recently, in 2010, it supplied the first land system for border control for a border between Europe and Russia, in Vaalima in Finland and the pilot system of border control for the Schipol airport in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. This activity that, in large measure, is targeted at airports, makes the integrated security management in these areas a concern and a challenge of today. As they are areas of high concentration of people and goods, airports today need a fully integrated security system that provides effective control of people and goods, both on land and in the air.
An integrated system that can cluster different sources of information (fire detection, intrusion, abandoned luggage, face recognition, etc...) is needed, instead of having multiple systems operating separately. The stance to be adopted by those responsible for security in this area includes, according to Vision-Box, these three points: Adopt a more preventive approach, than reactive. Speed-up response times to threats, therefore mitigating the risk. Increasing security without compromising the flow of people, which is necessary in such facilities. Thus, the management at security in airports can be divided into two forms: external perimeter security and internal security, or that of the building. In external security, you must have the ability to respond proactively to abnormal situations and trigger the necessary actions to correct them. In internal security, rather than just detecting abnormal situations, it is also important to receive information about the behaviour of passengers and anticipate events such as queuing or detect possible areas of narrowing..
Vision-Box thus appears as a leading company in identification, authentication and access control solutions in Europe. In May of 2011 it was present at the Digital ID World Middle East 2011 event in Abu Dhabi, following the interest shown by several Middle Eastern countries in having specific products and solutions.
Issue N.2 | September | 2011
ÂŤ...airports today need a fully integrated security...Âť
17
18
ARTICLE . MAEIL CONSULTORES
MAEIL CONSULTORES
SHIPPING INFORMATION SYSTEMS WORLDWIDE BY HUGO DUARTE DA FONSECA MARKETING PARTNER
We have developed since 1999, Information Systems Products and Solutions specifically for the Shipping Industry. We have gained experience in the Portuguese Market, and exported our expertise to several countries worldwide. The Shipping Industry is, by its nature, a global business with very specific knowledge, and the majority of the players face the same challenges and problems on a daily basis. Also these companies work with each other in network around all Ports in the world, wherever cargo is exported and imported. That’ the actual global economy!
EUROPE, AFTER PORTUGAL WE’VE STARTED WITH NETHERLANDS
AFRICA, KENYA AND ANGOLA, PLANNING FOR CAPE VERDE AND MOZAMBIQUE
To handle the import and export of cargo, our customers need solutions to take care of all the Business Processes, from collecting tons of cargo on a specific warehouse and deliver it, after 30 days of a transoceanic trip, to other part of the earth on a factory location to integrate its production cycle. From Sales to Operations and Container Control, to EDI or XML Communication with Port and Custom Authorities, our Transporter Suite solutions allow to handle and optimize the way this Business is done. After our first implementations in Portugal, we’ve deployed our solution on a Short Sea Line based in Rotterdam, and fulfilled all their requirements, enhancing the software to handle their specific needs. Rotterdam is one of the biggest Ports in Europe, and runs as a hub for cargo from America, Africa and Asia, to smaller Ports in the rest of Europe. From here we started do deploy on other countries, such as Germany (Hamburg), UK (Felixstowe), Spain (Vigo), Turkey (Istanbul).
We’ve started our African experience not with a Portuguese spoken country, but rather with an English one. However shipping language is global, and crosses all others. Our solution fits all the requirements in Kenya, used in Mombasa, that are in many cases as developed as in Europe. They had a great quality jump in these last years, and the Shipping was forced to adopt new solutions. They work with our solutions from 6 to 7 years now. On these last 4 years, we’ve started to work with Portuguese companies that started their activity in Angola, and in this period we have also won some direct Angola customers, from our more often past visits. We have customers working with our solutions on the main Ports of Angola, in Luanda, Lobito, Cabinda, Soyo and Namibe. One of the biggest challenges are the communications to the data centers, since that the most robust internet accesses is still the satellite. The majority of the Portuguese Legal and Customs requirements are sufficient to deploy and maintain solutions for this Industry, in Angola. With the increase of business we’ve created since September 2010, a spin off, from Maeil, in Angola, which now runs completely independently for that market.
Issue N.2 | September | 2011
ARTICLE . MAEIL CONSULTORES
WORLDWIDE RULES (ISO)
This business is regulated by several entities worldwide such as:
UN/CEFACT - United Nations Center for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business; UN/EDIFACT - United Nations Directories for Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport; ITIGG - International Transport Implementation Guidelines Group (Grupo para a Implementação das Directrizes Relativas ao Transporte Internacional); SMDG - International Transport Implementation Guidelines Group; OMG - The Object Management Group. And our solutions are in conformity with these rules and guidelines, which in most cases are mandatory for our customers.
SHIPPING PRODUCTS AND SOLUTIONS
For Shipping Agencies www.maeil.pt/products/Documents/Flyers/Transporter/agencies.pdf For Shipping Lines www.maeil.pt/products/Documents/Flyers/Transporter/liners.pdf
Issue N.2 | September | 2011
19
OEIRAS VALLEY IS BASED IN THE CONCEPT OF INTEGRATED REGION OF DEVELOPMENT SUPPORTED BY KNOWLEDGE-INTENSIVE UNITS.