JAN 07 2026
2025 in Review: 10 milestones of innovation that defined Ubiwhere’s year
The year 2025 was marked by achievements, growth, and consolidation of Ubiwhere as an active agent in building smarter, more sustainable, and more connected cities. Over the course of twelve months, we strengthened partnerships, launched new solutions, participated in events of enormous importance, integrated strategic projects and continued to transform knowledge into real impact in the territories. In this article, we invite you to review the 10 main milestones that made 2025 a truly memorable year for Ubiwhere.
The year 2025 began with big news: Ubiwhere and the University of Aveiro inaugurated Math Lab - Artificial Intelligence Open Lab by Ubiwhere, a space created as part of a partnership between the two entities, equipped with modern technological tools, designed to foster research and whose objectives include the development of active learning methodologies, the establishment of relationships with the business community and the implementation of innovative digital projects.
2. Ubiwhere featured at the 1st Smart Cities Portugal Conference
Ubiwhere was one of the participating entities and partners at the 1st Smart Cities Portugal Conference, an initiative organised by Jornal de Notícias and TSF at Porto Business School. This event brought together national and international experts to analyse the present and future of the profound digital transformation of cities, driven by significant European Commission investment. Ubiwhere, represented by our co-CEO Nuno Ribeiro, presented its Urban Platform and shared its journey of innovation in building smart cities.
From the 3rd to the 5th of June, FIL in Lisbon was the stage for technological and digital innovation for smart, sustainable and connected cities. With the motto ‘Building Our Future Together’, this annual event brought together companies, public administration, local authorities, universities, research centres and experts to exchange experiences, best practices and disseminate solutions for urban and territorial systems: For another consecutive year, Ubiwhere was present at the Portugal Smart Cities Summit, where it presented the Urban Platform, technological solutions for efficient urban management, and disseminated research projects such as Route 25.
4. FUTUREGION SUMMERCAMP by Ubiwhere, a Summer School for the Future of Cities
From the 7th to the 11th of July, Ubiwhere organised the first edition of FUTUREGION SUMMERCAMP in partnership with the University of Aveiro: a training initiative featuring renowned speakers that combined technical knowledge and practical application, focusing on the current challenges of smart urban management. Technological innovation, digital solutions for cities and territories, and telecommunications-related concepts were among the themes of FUTUREGION SUMMERCAMP.
Ubiwhere, in consortium with Digiwest, has been selected by the Regional Government of the Azores to lead the development of the Integrated Intelligent Monitoring System for Tourist Flows in the Azores (SIMIFTA), an innovative project whose main objective is to strengthen sustainable tourism management in the Autonomous Region of the Azores. With this award, Ubiwhere reinforces its mission to contribute to a more sustainable digital future, with a direct impact on quality of life, government efficiency and regional development.
6. ‘Arouca + Digital’: the first Digital Commercial District developed by Ubiwhere
Developed by Ubiwhere, the ‘Arouca + Digital’ project creates a Digital Commercial District in the Municipality of Arouca, promoting the digital transition of local commerce, modernising its operating models and integrating technology into the daily activities of merchants and consumers. Ubiwhere’s contribution focused on the creation and development of a marketplace and the ‘Arouca + Digital’ mobile application, with an intuitive design focused on the user experience.
For another consecutive year, and as a leading technology entity in the region, Ubiwhere participated in Aveiro Tech Week 2025, demonstrating the results of its research and development projects at different locations throughout the city. In Praça da República, Ubiwhere was responsible for demonstrations of three of its projects: ‘MLSysOps in action: Safer and more connected smart cities’, "N-TourXP-5G: Immersive Tourist Experiences with 5G‘ and ’Digital Nervous System Testbed - From vision to reality‘, and participated in the workshop ’The evolution of Autonomous Mobility in Portugal: results of Agenda Route 25".
8. Rui A. Costa, Co-CEO of Ubiwhere, re-elected to the FIWARE Board of Directors 2025-2026
Having already held the position in 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, Rui A. Costa, co-CEO, was re-elected to the Board of Directors of the FIWARE Foundation. This recognition reinforced not only Ubiwhere’s role as a benchmark in technological innovation, but also the growing importance of the Portuguese digital ecosystem on the international stage.
The event of the year: from the 4th to the 6th of November, the Smart City Expo World Congress 2025 in Barcelona brought together technology companies, political and governmental entities, researchers and urban technology enthusiasts. With the theme ‘The Time For Cities’, this event showcased demonstrations and projects that explore the role of technology, innovation, and sustainability in creating smarter, more efficient cities. In this sense, Ubiwhere was present at the largest smart cities fair as an Industry Partner, continuing its uninterrupted participation since 2014. During the three-day event, our team presented innovative solutions to manage cities and territories in a sustainable and efficient way, such as the Urban Platform, and was also involved in sessions of great importance. Our participation was another milestone in our mission to transform the future of cities.
10. Inauguration of the Creative Intelligence Open Lab by Ubiwhere
If we started the year with the inauguration of a research space, we ended 2025 with the inauguration of an innovation space: Ubiwhere and the University of Aveiro inaugurated the Creative Intelligence Open Lab by Ubiwhere, a new space for promoting education that is the result of a partnership between the two entities, whose mission is to stimulate the creativity of students at the University of Aveiro, enhance critical and multidisciplinary thinking, and support the implementation of innovative digital projects.
Between research, training, internationalisation and the practical application of technology in the territories, Ubiwhere reinforced its commitment to building smarter, more sustainable and people-centred cities during 2025. These milestones are the result of the work of our teams, the trust of our partners and collaboration with the academic and institutional ecosystem. We enter 2026 with the same ambition, ready to continue transforming knowledge into solutions.
