# Case Study

## How CATÓLICA-LISBON Entrepreneurship Center is gaining visibility over European grant opportunities

When universities and former students switch roles, strong partnerships and strategic collaborations can come together. One example of this is **Granter’s relationship with Universidade Católica Portuguesa**.

Bernardo Seixas, co-founder of Granter and a Católica alumnus, remained **closely connected to the university** as his presence in the startup and innovation ecosystem grew. Through podcasts, guest lectures, and training sessions, he regularly returned to Católica to share practical insights from his journey as a founder and entrepreneur.

Over time, these touchpoints strengthened the relationship with the **Católica-Lisbon Entrepreneurship Center (CLEC)**, the university’s hub for innovation, technology management, and entrepreneurship, ultimately leading to a **pilot of the AI Grant Consultant to support the knowledge centre’s funding discovery efforts**.

Beyond CLEC, Granter has also built close relationships with multiple verticals within Universidade Católica, including **with Católica Consulting Linked**, which conducted a market research on the US ecosystem to support Granter’s international expansion.

Together, these collaborations reflect **a strong and ongoing partnership with one of the most respected academic institutions in Portugal**.

## The Challenge

### Limited access to EU grants for specialised knowledge centres

Universidade Católica has long-standing experience with grants and maintains an **internal structure dedicated to managing incentives and applications**. However, this centralized structure **does not have the capacity to support** the highly specific needs, projects, and strategic objectives of individual knowledge centres such as CLEC.

As a result, CLEC had **never applied for a grant directly** and had **limited visibility into the funding opportunities available in the market**.

### Missing out on relevant EU funding opportunities

Without dedicated resources to search, filter, and assess grants, the team **lacked clarity on which opportunities were aligned with their goals and whether they were even eligible**. This created a clear gap.

CLEC needed a way to understand **which European grants existed in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship**, and identify which opportunities were truly aligned with their projects and objectives.

**Without this support, the team felt they were consistently missing out on grants that could meaningfully contribute to their initiatives and to the student experience.**

## Solution

### An agent for innovation and entrepreneurship grants

Building on the partnership with Granter, CLEC implemented **a dedicated AI agent**, designed specifically for their context. The agent was **trained through a detailed onboarding process**, during which CLEC shared information about its structure, priority projects, strategic goals, and areas of focus. Based on this input, **it was tailored to European grants in innovation and entrepreneurship**.

The **core module in use is Match**, which serves two key functions for CLEC:

- **Full market visibility**: Providing a comprehensive view of relevant European grant opportunities.
- **Eligibility Check**: Identifying which calls CLEC is eligible for, based on goals and criteria.

## Objectives

### Connecting innovation projects to the right EU grants

Improve grant discovery

**Ensure** **full visibility** **over relevant EU opportunities aligned with entrepreneurship and innovation.**

Avoid missed opportunities due to fragmented information or unclear eligibility.

Support informed decision-making

**Identify which grants are aligned with CLEC’s priorities and which are** **worth pursuing** **.**

Increase precision when sharing opportunities with the university’s grants department.

## Status

**Live deployment and ongoing evaluation**. The partnership is currently nearing the final month of a **six-month pilot**. Conversations are already underway not only to **continue the collaboration, but also to expand the platform** to additional modules and other organizations within Universidade Católica.

## See for yourself

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