Nuno Nunes was an invited speaker of the 8th edition of the European Commission’s Week of Innovative Regions in Europe (WIRE) from 28th to 30th June 2017. This conference was supported by the Directorate-General Research & Innovation, Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation Programme and was related to the 2017 Slovak EU Presidency. The Week of Innovative Regions in Europe (WIRE) is from 2010 main European policy forum for innovation and regional development.