UPTEC – Science and Technology Park of the University of Porto is once again a partner of the ECOTROPHELIA Portugal Award. Now in its 10th edition, the competition organised by PortugalFoods challenges university students to create innovative and sustainable food products that respond to current consumer trends.

Applications are open to teams made up of undergraduate, master’s and postgraduate students from across the country, who during the competition will have the opportunity to connect with companies, mentors and investors, as well as benefit from consultancy and training in entrepreneurship. Submitted projects will be assessed according to criteria such as the degree of innovation, sustainability, packaging, production process, taste and marketing strategy.

UPTEC will support participants through specialist mentoring throughout the competition and by awarding a special distinction, the Rise Up distinction, which assesses the entrepreneurial potential of each participating team. The winning team will have the opportunity to join the School of Startups: Foundations, UPTEC’s pre-acceleration programme. Susana Pinheiro, Business Developer for Sciences at UPTEC, is a member of the competition’s jury, ensuring the assessment of the projects’ entrepreneurial potential.

The winning team of the national competition will have access to mentoring from professionals in the fields of finance, design and communication, and will represent Portugal at ECOTROPHELIA EUROPE 2026, which returns to SIAL Paris, one of the world’s largest stages for food innovation where young people, industry leaders and experts gather to discover more about the future of food in Europe.

Applications are open until 20 May and can be submitted via the ECOTROPHELIA Portugal website. The national final will take place in July, where the winning teams to represent Portugal in the European final will be selected.

16 March 2026