This year we celebrate ten years of passionate research, quality and technological growth.

JOIN US IN THIS SPECIAL AND UNIQUE CELEBRATION!

Dear Community,
 
The INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory was born in 2008, ten years ago. And this year we celebrate ten years of passionate research, quality and technological growth addressing the societal challenges of our times. 
 
After several discussions and extensive investigations, the founding fathers – the governments of Spain and Portugal, decided that nanotechnology would be an excellent fit for an intergovernmental Research Organization to be built in the heart of Braga. After signing the agreement in 2005, the idea went from paper to construction of what is now INL. But, as we all know, an organisation is not defined only by its infrastructures or equipment but by the people who work on it every day for the benefit of society through the application of nanotechnology in the most diverse areas. Many, many people have passed through INL, leaving an indelible mark.
 
It is us, our partners, companies and local citizens that make INL what it represents today and we strive every day to become the leading international research hub in nanotechnology. 
 
Thank you for the ten remarkable years of warmth, friendship, and support. We absolutely couldn’t have done it without you, nor can we take the next steps without your continued support. 
 
I would like to invite you all to join us for this celebration because you’re also part of it. It’s been 10 years, but there is still a lot to be done, to learn, to explore, to understand and to create. It still feels like day one. Together, we dig deeper and go farther than would be possible without each other. Let’s keep it going and growing for the next ten years.
 
With deep appreciation,
 
Lars Montelius, Director General

See and hear unique retrospectives about INL. Reflections on our past, our present and our future.

Lars Montelius | Director-General

“I think the best moment of INL history started really with the agreement of the Science Ministers [from Portugal and Spain] to actually create INL. And then I think the realization of this fantastic infrastructure, and then the deployment that we are now doing, I think these are the three core elements, the best moments of INL…”

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa | President of the Portuguese Republic

“I would like to congratulate INL, its leadership, all of its staff and all of its partners, for these 10 years, and for the many things they have achieved in such a short period of time Although INL Celebrates 10 years it feels like it is much longer given the many achievements and how fast it has become a major scientific and innovation actor, in Portugal, in the Iberian Peninsula, and internationally.”

José Rivas | First Director-General (2008)

“I believe that the relations between Spain and Portugal are excellent, and a good example of this is the creation of INL. This laboratory is the 1st international laboratory in the Iberian Peninsula in nanotechnology, consolidating Portugal and Spain to enter the exclusive group of countries that have such research international organizations in their territories.”

Paulo Freitas | Deputy Director-General

“Time was spent making the architectural drawings for INL. This was in the summer 2007, and we spent the summer here, I think the month of August, myself, José Rivas and Carlos Bernardo, discussing with architects from different teams, possible configurations for INL. And then, very fast, in the summer 2008, we started building. By the end of 2010 we had a laboratory where researchers started to come in and started to work essentially on that time…”

Carlos Bernardo, Executive Director (between 2007-2008)

“…probably the most unexplored domain of scientific know-how and brilliance would be the feminine domain, and the difficulty in joining the natural need of bright female scientists to be mothers, to have a family and have a scientific career without too much of stoppage. So, by having a nursery where we could offer them all the facilities they would need to have their children here, even babies, and simultaneously they could go on doing their research. So, it seemed a very good idea at that time. I hope it is still a good idea.”

Ricardo Rio, Mayor of Braga

“I think that the arrival of INL to the city matched the precise moment in time in which the city has made a huge transformation, has opened itself, it has become more internationalized, it has focused more on innovation and in the connection between science and innovation, and economic development, and INL played a very important role in that transformation process…”

Video Resume

Video resume with the best moments of the interviews.