Over the past week, EXCELScIOR team organised two events dedicated to exploring the role of research rigor, transparency, and reproducibility in advancing both scientific knowledge and innovation.
On May 22, the team hosted the full‑day event “From Lab to Investment: Why Research Rigor Matters for Startups”, held at Instituto Pedro Nunes. The programme brought together a diverse group of speakers from academia and industry, including Jorge Pimenta (Instituto Pedro Nunes), Joana Branco (Biocant Park), Gautam Sharma (Karolinska Institutet), Tracey Weissgerber (University of Coimbra), and John Ioannidis (Stanford University). Discussions focused on how robust and reliable research practices can support the transition from academic discovery to industrial application and startup development, highlighting their importance for investment readiness and sustainable innovation.
This was followed, on May 26, by an open seminar delivered by John Ioannidis at the University of Coimbra. In his talk, “Reproducibility, Robustness, Re-analyses, Multiverses, Multi-analysts, and Vibration of Effects: Making Sense of the Credibility Conundrum”, he addressed key challenges related to the reliability of scientific findings and discussed approaches to strengthening research credibility through improved methodological practices and transparency.
Across both events, a central message emerged: rigorous and transparent research practices are essential not only for scientific integrity, but also for generating societal and economic impact. The discussions highlighted the importance of fostering a research culture that values robustness, openness, and critical evaluation, while supporting innovation and collaboration across sectors.
The EXCELScIOR project is pleased to have organised these initiatives and remains committed to promoting responsible research practices and strengthening the link between high‑quality science and real‑world impact.
