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Specialist in the economics of happiness 33-year-old Gabriel Leite Mota is the first Portuguese person to hold a doctorate in the Economics of Happiness. The title was awarded to him in 2010 by the Faculty of Economics of Porto (FEP), the institution where got his first degree in 2002. He teaches Economics, Politics and Happiness at ISPA – the Higher Institute of Social and Political Sciences and he’s a researcher at the Applied Microeconomics Research Centre of the University of Minho. He is also a columnist and commentator. His research interests range from the economics of well-being to behavioural and …

from Dr. Eusébio Conceição Every year, a kindergarten in Olhão used to be ravaged by flu and colds. Today, the children are healthier and do their activities in airier rooms with improved air quality. It doesn’t involve any magic, improvisation or divine intervention; but is rather the fruit of a scientific study and the application of such simple measures as strategically opening some windows and, in the future, planting trees and constructing strategically located shade structures.

Imagine free public transport. Would you leave your car at home? For many years, public transport in Lisbon and Porto has been both declining and running at a loss. The system is being used to only just over 22% of capacity. In contrast, private use of cars has risen fivefold in the past 12 years. Serious problems are the result: endless traffic jams, a shortfall of at least 18,000 parking spaces in Lisbon, more than three times the number of road traffic accidents and a huge burden of noise and exhaust fumes on local residents. The idea of free transport …

Rcicla was the first shop in Portugal devoted to building and repairing customised bicycles by recycling material from other bicycles. Now it is also the first to build a bike entirely out of parts from a disused car, everything from the bodywork to the upholstery. The challenge was set by the Leo Burnett advertising agency, which produced a promotional video of the “Karma Project” (1). The aim is to submit a moribund vehicle to karmic purification, and to demonstrate that, apart from being a sustainable and enjoyable means of transport, a bike doesn’t have to be expensive and can be …

“Since the start of the Garbags project in 2009, we have collected 28,456 coffee packets, 21,450 milk and juice packets, 1,180 shampoo bottles and toothpaste tubes, 1,265 coffee capsules and 2,350 assorted used packages, stopping them going to land-fill,” said Tânia Sofia Moreira Anselma, the manager of Garbags. This is the equivalent of transporting all the furniture from a three-bedroom apartment. Garbags inspires people to think about their daily waste and to regard it in a different way. Garbags recycles waste, transforming it into nice fashion accessories that are durable, tough, practical, fun and make people dream. It is collected …

Getting international business, innovating and creating sustainable value. Cova da Beira was on show in the Arab world in November and got everyone talking. The olive oil with its flakes of gold, rose-flavoured jelly, wine, cured meats, cheeses, jams and the famous cherries whet people’s appetites in the food market in Abu Dhabi and awoke the locals’ curiosity. To such an extent that the region welcomed a group of investors from Qatar in February who are interested in acquiring businesses for the exclusive production of certain products. “Participating in international fairs in selected markets is part of the strategy of …

In 2008, the team led by Professor Elvira Fortunato of the Faculty of Science and Technology (FCT) of Lisbon’s Universidade Nova publicly announced the creation in a laboratory of the first paper transistors. Since then, they have participated in international projects with companies aiming to develop a paper with suitable properties for electronics. This discovery was regarded as being revolutionary worldwide because “for the first time it was proved that cellulose paper could be considered an electronic material. To make a transistor, you need insulating, conducting and semi-conducting materials. In this particular case, the cellulose represents the transistor’s insulating material” …