INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DE ENGENHARIA DO PORTO

Their core work

ISEP is a polytechnic engineering school in Porto, Portugal, specializing in applied research at the intersection of IoT, cybersecurity, and safety-critical systems. They build and validate software architectures for fog/edge computing, cyber-physical systems, and smart infrastructure — translating academic research into working prototypes for industry sectors like energy, transport, and manufacturing. Their strength lies in systems integration: making diverse connected devices work together securely and reliably across domains such as smart grids, autonomous vehicles, and industrial automation.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2015-2018, ISEP focused on foundational digital industry work: smart production, supply chain digitization, process automation, and early-stage fog computing and CPS safety. From 2019 onward, their portfolio shifted decisively toward AI-driven safety and security — with repeated emphasis on trustworthy AI, explainability, cross-domain IoT security, and verification of automated systems. The transition reflects a move from building connected systems to ensuring those systems are reliable, secure, and auditable.

ISEP is converging on AI safety, trustworthiness, and security validation — positioning them well for future projects under the EU AI Act compliance and critical infrastructure protection agendas.

How they like to work

ISEP primarily operates as a contributing partner (19 of 22 projects), bringing specialized technical expertise rather than leading large consortia. With 456 unique partners across 29 countries, they have an exceptionally broad network for an institution of their size, suggesting they are a trusted, easy-to-work-with partner that gets invited back. Their three coordinator roles (Symbiotic, THERMAC, ProEMiBiL) are in smaller, focused projects, indicating comfort leading niche research efforts while contributing technically to larger industrial consortia like ECSEL and Clean Sky.

ISEP has collaborated with 456 unique partners across 29 countries, giving them one of the wider networks for a Portuguese polytechnic. Their partnerships span Western and Central Europe extensively, with strong connections in ECSEL-type industrial electronics consortia.

What sets them apart

ISEP sits at a rare intersection: they combine deep embedded systems and IoT engineering (typical of a polytechnic) with growing AI safety and trustworthiness research (typically found at research universities). For consortium builders, this means a partner who can both implement working prototypes and contribute to formal verification and validation — not just theory. Their location in Porto also provides access to Portugal's growing tech talent pool at competitive cost compared to Western European counterparts.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Symbiotic
  ISEP's largest funded project (EUR 836K) and a coordinator role — an autonomous biosensor project that shows their range beyond pure ICT into biotech applications.
• THERMAC
  Coordinator role in a Clean Sky 2 aerospace project on thermal management for next-gen aircraft computing — demonstrates cross-sector reach into aviation.
• DOMINOES
  Second-largest funding (EUR 677K) in smart grid operation — their most substantial energy sector contribution, bridging their IoT expertise with grid infrastructure.