Competitive Intelligence Center opened in Campo Maior

A former elementary school in Campo Maior, Portalegre district, has been renovated to house the Alentejo Competitive Intelligence Center, which will be inaugurated on Wednesday, with an investment of around one million euros, it was announced this Tuesday.

The project, promoted by the municipality in partnership with the NOVA Information Management School, at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa and the Instituto Politécnico de Portalegre, aims to put data, artificial intelligence and technological innovation at the service of the development of that region .

Speaking to Lusa news agency, the scientific coordinator of the space, Miguel de Castro Neto, explained that the Alentejo Competitive Intelligence Center (CIC Alentejo) aims to create a knowledge base about the region, in work that has been developed on historical data, demographics, economy, mobility, tourism, sustainability, digitalization, among other areas.

"We then carry out this analysis also from the point of view of very specific aspects , such as climate risks, risks of extreme events, the impact of fair events, for example. We can inform (the municipality) what the economic impact of the event was, the value of economic transactions that were made through electronic payment methods on the following Monday," he explained.

Miguel Castro Neto, also director of the Nova Information Management School at Universidade Nova de Lisboa, explained that CIC Alentejo will be able to "measure" the economic impact of an event, as well as determine how many people and their nationalities attended the event.

The CIC Alentejo comprises three rooms that will support a range of specialized services, including the "immersive room," dedicated to creating value through analytical approaches based on the multidimensional knowledge base of the Alentejo region, which can be explored through three different lenses: intelligence, sustainability, and governance.

The " Collaborative Room ", which focuses on applying analytical approaches to innovation processes, exploring the potential of data science and artificial intelligence in the regional economy, through pilot projects and co-creation with companies, administrations and other local entities.

Finally, the “Training Room”, which is dedicated to in-person and distance training programs in areas critical to the competitiveness of organizations today.

With a multidimensional regional knowledge base and the goal of supporting businesses, public administration, educational and research institutions, and civil society, CIC Alentejo also aims to drive the development of data-driven products and services that will impact the region's strategic sectors, such as agri-food, the energy industry, and tourism.

CIC Alentejo will also offer specialized training for companies and public administration in emerging areas such as information management, data science, artificial intelligence, analytical marketing, among others.

Miguel Castro Neto also said that CIC Alentejo “is not a job creation hub” , but its ambition is to become a hub for “dynamizing and qualifying human resources in the business sector”, so that they acquire analytical skills.

With a “small but highly qualified” team, Miguel Castro Neto hopes to have “three highly qualified resources” at CIC Alentejo within a year and, within three years, “double” this number.

A source from the Municipality of Campo Maior told Lusa that the CIC Alentejo had an investment of over 991 thousand euros, with the municipality being responsible for the national contribution of 15% of the total work.

CIC Alentejo opens on Wednesday at 11:00 am.