Development and innovation are close concepts that are at the basis of the evolution of mankind.
If we look at this evolution we see that development is essentially felt in a stable set of elements: the ways in which we communicate, how we obtain information and learn, how we move and finally, not least, the development of health and life sciences that allow us to live better and longer.
When it comes to communication, it is easy to see that mobile phones are nothing more than a modern version of smoke signals. It is evident that it does not stop there. There are already a number of research laboratories working on combining the telepathic capabilities of the human brain with technology.
With regard to obtaining information, Google and Internet searches are nothing more than the contemporary version of traditional libraries or, going even further back in history, a highly advanced version of cave paintings. We also travel faster and further away. Modern transport to space is nothing more than a modern version of the Portuguese ships that were the protagonists of the Discoveries. On the other hand, developments in medicine and health sciences allow us to live longer and enjoy a higher quality of life. This is probably the last degree of the human being. Live longer and better.
I believe that, in Portugal, there are opportunities to be explored. Portuguese engineering can contribute to the digitization of processes, an absolutely crucial area for dematerialization with potential contributions to the quality of life in work activities, as well as to the generation of savings and the efficiency of the use of natural resources. Oceanographic exploration and space exploration are areas where Portugal, given its history, geographical location and holding an Exclusive Maritime Economic Zone, needs to strategically position its policy of innovation and scientific and technological development, continuing our great historical asset, the maritime economy, and consequently space exploration.
At Taguspark we are focused on doing better than the day before, always guaranteeing that the next day we will do even better. It is the challenge of continuous overcoming in an environment of doing well, giving contributions to others, which truly inspires us.
It is at every moment of our existence that we guarantee that we can do it well. And it is in the present, in the now, that we are able to make a difference. Like Ricardo Reis, heteronym of the Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa, he cries out in poetry. “To be great, be whole: nothing of yours exaggerates or excludes. Be all in everything. Put as much as you are at the least you do. So in every lake, the moon shines, because high lives.”
Oeiras is a fabulous place, a great center for scientific and technological development in our country. The municipality is very well located, next to the Tagus river and the sea. Between 30% and 40% of the Portuguese technological capacity is installed here, which is an extraordinary achievement. It is highly inspiring to be surrounded by ambitious people and institutions, inserted in a collective environment that shares ambitions and that often serves as a stimulus.
I believe that the success of the future of innovation is based on the alignment between Portugal’s political development strategy and its position in the world, with research centers, universities and companies. Similar to what happened in the Portuguese Discoveries, which were essentially based on cutting-edge science and technology. Only in this way, with unity and with a common vision, is it possible to carry out ambitious projects.
Fiction is fiction only as long as engineers and engineering are unable to make it a reality. Everything we experience today is pure fiction when compared to the reality experienced by our ancestors. Once we understand and assume it, there are no limits. All ambition is acceptable in the light of historical evolution. We must not limit ourselves to the shadow of conquests. Our reality is only the most developed reality compared to the past. If we imagine the future, we easily conclude that we are just going through some primitive phase.
Eduardo Baptista Correia has been Taguspark CEO since 2018. He was born in Lisbon, but his roots are in Satão and Penalva do Castelo. He is 57 years old and has three children. He is a Professor at the ISCTE Business School and has extensive national and international experience in the area of management. PhD in Finance at the University of Strathclyde, MBA at the University of Glasgow, both in the United Kingdom. Degree in Management at ISCTE, where he was the first Erasmus student.
