UALG TEC START: A COMPETITIVE INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM IN ALGARVE – PORTUGAL

Regions are today in a global competition for resources, whether they are High Qualified Assets, Investment Funds, Enterprises, or Entrepreneurs. Fostering dynamic and competitive ecosystems is the way to become more competitive, gathering the necessary conditions towards retaining 

and attracting talent and resources, and assuring an effective support policy towards the internationalization of regional companies. This is particularly relevant in the Algarve region - Portugal, given the peripheral location and the overspecialization in tourism, leading to a real 

need for policies focused on the promotion of the diversification of the regional economic framework. The University of the Algarve (UAlg), through its Division of Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Transfer, conceives and implements regional development policies, aiming to create 

new and innovative companies, as well as to connect the University and Enterprises towards innovation and knowledge transfer. For the last 20 years, this strategy has shown a relevant impact on the region's capacity to be more competitive in the retaining and attraction of talent and 

resources and to create new and innovative companies directed to global and competitive markets. This paper presents KPIs of the impact of the work developed by UAlg in the region, contributing to a more effective and competitive entrepreneurial ecosystem. Outcomes show that 

the innovation funnel must be fed, that is, there must be a competitive and dynamic innovation ecosystem that unites all pertinent players under a single strategy to carry out pertinent actions and have an influence on the local economy.