On 6 March, the University of Latvia (UL) Business Opportunities Festival "Icebreakers 2025" took place at the UL House of Sciences. It also included a BioPhoT platform partner event, which looked at innovation and science commercialisation experiences in the biomedical and photonics fields.
The event brought together scientists, students and industry representatives to learn about commercialisation processes and opportunities for collaboration with research institutions. Participants learned how new ideas are turned into products and how research institutions can support start-ups and existing companies in developing innovation.
Speakers at the event talked about their experiences:
Dr. Kaspars Ozols (Institute of Electronics and Computer Science) - "EDI scientific excellence and expertise - innovation support for business";
Dr. Chem. Dace Rasiņa (Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis) - "When science and industry synthesize together";
Ph.D. Daniela Godiņa (Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry) - "Green Innovation: How the Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry is changing the future";
Laura Ansone (Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre) - "Data, algorithms and business: lessons from the commercialisation of microbiome analysis";
Ģirts Ozoliņš (Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia) - "Commercialisation experience in practice: from space exploration to biotechnology".
Discussions and presentations highlighted Latvia's scientific potential for innovation and stressed the importance of interdisciplinary cooperation. Speakers shared practical experiences of how scientific discoveries are turned into marketable products.
