{"id":5538,"date":"2026-10-01T11:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T08:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biophot.lv\/?p=5538"},"modified":"2026-10-01T11:04:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T08:04:10","slug":"strengthening-cooperation-between-researchers-and-entrepreneurs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biophot.lv\/en\/jastiprina-sadarbiba-starp-petniekiem-un-uznemejiem\/","title":{"rendered":"Cooperation between researchers and entrepreneurs must be strengthened"},"content":{"rendered":"

Latvia has both brilliant ideas and strong scientists \u2013 this is an opportunity to turn this potential into technologies, products, and export-capable solutions. To achieve this, closer and more practical cooperation between science and industry is needed. This was also confirmed by the \u201cIndustry Day & Sensing the Future\u201d event held on September 24 by the Institute of Solid State Physics of the University of Latvia (IMIS\/LU CFI) and the biomedicine and photonics innovation platform \u201cBioPhoT\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the event, researchers, technology developers, and entrepreneurs not only learned about new technologies but also discussed their practical application and commercialization opportunities. The main conclusion of the experts was that in order for the potential of innovations created in Latvia to be fully utilized, not only investments are needed, but also a strong ecosystem and cooperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cState support instruments like \u201cBioPhoT\u201d connect the needs of entrepreneurs with researcher expertise and create an ecosystem, and it would be important both in the fields of biomedicine and photonics, as well as in other areas, says Senior Expert of the State Education Development Agency Daiga Eiduka<\/strong>. of the European Commission European Innovation Scoreboard 2025<\/em> Latvia ranks 25th among the 27 EU member states, with its overall innovation performance reaching 56.7% of the EU average. Research and development (R&D) spending by Latvian companies accounts for only 17.9% of the EU average, while sales of innovation products account for 43.6%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, entrepreneurs themselves acknowledge the importance of cooperation with science. In the latest Knowledge Transfer Barometer of Riga Technical University, 83% of businesses indicated that cooperation between companies and scientific institutions can significantly boost Latvia's competitiveness and growth. However, 63% cited a lack of information about opportunities for such cooperation as the main barrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese data show that the challenge is not just about the amount of funding. A company may have a specific technological challenge, but it is not always clear where to look for the necessary knowledge and partners. On the other hand, a researcher may have a promising technology, but lacks the opportunities to test it in a real industrial environment and develop it to the market. Therefore, cooperation must be established at the very beginning of technology development, when there is a much greater chance that a scientific idea will turn into a practical solution, product, and economic value,\u201d Eiduka outlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bridging the gap between scientists and entrepreneurs, the \u201cIndustry Day & Sensing the Future\u201d event allowed entrepreneurs to visit the ISSP UL laboratories and explore technologies developed by researchers in the fields of smart windows, functional coatings, sensors, biomedicine, energy harvesting, additive manufacturing, and water purification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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