Event type: Conferences

Under the theme “From Ideas to Impact: 20 Years of CMU-Portugal Partnership”, the CMU Portugal Summit will bring together on October 29th at the Universidade de Aveiro, experts from Portuguese universities, Carnegie Mellon University, and companies to present and discuss cutting-edge topics in ICT related to the scope of the Program.

The Summit will be a key moment to assess how the partnership has evolved and its impact across academia and industry. It will also explore the range of opportunities created through this international collaboration, from research projects to ICT education programs and mobility initiatives, bridging leading Portuguese universities, companies, and Carnegie Mellon.

 

Call for Posters
The Call is open to MSc and PhD students, including PhD graduates who concluded their degree during Phase 4, provided they are, or have been, active under Phase 4 of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal, MIT Portugal, or UT Austin Portugal Programs and meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Holding, or having held, a PhD scholarship funded through one of the Programs;
• Participation in mobility or entrepreneurship programs;
• Support through research projects or research grants funded or enabled by one of the Programs.

For registration and further information, please visit the Event Website.

See also: Portugal-US Partnerships 2026 Summit: “From Knowledge to Competitiveness”, October 30.

From Knowledge to Competitiveness in Science, Technology and Innovation

The Portugal-US Partnerships 2026 Summit – the first Phase IV  Conference jointly organized by CMU Portugal, MIT Portugal, and UT Austin Portugal – will be hosted by Universidade de Aveiro on October 30th, 2026. 

The event will bring together researchers, students, industry leaders, policymakers, and innovation stakeholders across the three communities to discuss how science, technology, and innovation can drive Portugal’s competitiveness and global impact. 

The Summit will feature:

• Inspiring keynote presentations from internationally recognized leaders;
• High-level discussions on emerging technologies and their societal and economic impact;
• Perspectives from academia, industry, and government on future opportunities and challenges;
• Networking opportunities across the three Portugal-US Partnership programs;
• Showcases of research achievements, talent development initiatives, entrepreneurship, and collaborative innovation (poster exhibition). 

Save the date on your calendar!

• Date: October 30
• Venue: Universidade de Aveiro

Call for Posters
The Call is open to MSc and PhD students, including PhD graduates who concluded their degree during Phase 4, provided they are, or have been, active under Phase 4 of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal, MIT Portugal, or UT Austin Portugal Programs and meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Holding, or having held, a PhD scholarship funded through one of the Programs;
• Participation in mobility or entrepreneurship programs;
• Support through research projects or research grants funded or enabled by one of the Programs.

For registration and further information, please visit the Event Website.

See also: CMU Portugal Conference: “From Ideas to Impact: 20 Years of CMU-Portugal Partnership” , October 29, for members of the CMU Portugal community.

On July 15th, the CMU Portugal Program will participate in the parallel session “International Partnerships for Excellence” at the inaugural edition of the “Ciência e Inovação” (Science and Innovation) Conference in Lisbon.

Building upon the legacy of the national science summit “Encontro Ciência,” this conference is the first major summit organized by the newly established Agency for Research and Innovation’s (AI²). The event’s primary goal is to gather key insights to help shape Portugal’s upcoming Research and Innovation Strategy.

The “International Partnerships for Excellence” Session aims to discuss existing partnership models, international cooperation instruments, and funding frameworks, while evaluating their concrete results and broader societal impact.

The session will begin with a first panel dedicated to Portuguese “Teaming” initiatives, titled “Teaming for Excellence Portugal Network: Promoting National Science and Innovation.” 

Followed by the Panel “FCT’S International Partnerships with American Universities”, jointly organized by CMU Portugal,  MIT Portugal Program and UT Austin Portugal:

• FCT’s international partnerships with American universities by José Manuel Mendonça, Coordinator of International Partnerships.
• Transatlantic cooperation instruments in research by Inês Lynce | CMU Portugal, Alexandre Ferreira da Silva | MIT Portugal, Rute Ferreira | UTAustin Portugal

To wrap up the session, there will be a dedicated panel and audience debate, involving all Teaming projects and the directors of the three international partnerships moderated by Rui Munhá (FCT).

More about the “Ciência e Inovação” event:

• Date: 15 and 16 July
• Location: Centro de Congressos de Lisboa, Auditorium II
• Website:  https://www.cienciainovacao.pt/en/
• Registration is required here.
• 

On April 23rd, at 3 p.m. Lisbon I 10 a.m. Pittsburgh, we will walk you through the application process for both CMU Portugal Mobility initiatives, “Visiting Students” and “Visiting faculty & Researchers”, which will be open between April 16th and May 14th.

The CMU Portugal Visiting Faculty & Researchers initiative will allow up to 8 grantees to spend between 2 weeks and 2 months working in research, education, and innovation in ICT with peers at Carnegie Mellon University to experience its culture and best practices.

The CMU Portugal Visiting Students initiative will allow up to 12 master’s students or masters who have been awarded a degree in the last five years in Portugal and in ICT-related areas to spend between 2 weeks and 2 months working in research in ICT at CMU.

Credentials to join us on Zoom will be sent by email the day before the event.

To register, please fill in this online form. 

Info Session Agenda

Session Moderator – Sílvia Castro I CMU Portugal Executive Director

5′– João Magalhães I CMU Portugal National Co-Director
Welcome to the Session

10′– João Fumega | CMU Portugal Coordination Office
Overview of CMU Portugal Mobility Programs 

5′ – Megan Berty | CMU Portugal Coordination Office at CMU
Visiting period at CMU

5’ – André Clérigo | CMU Portugal Visiting student
Experience as a Visiting student at CMU

5’ – Christof Ferreira Torres |  CMU Portugal Faculty&Researcher
Experience as a Visiting researcher at CMU

15′ – Q&A

On April 21st (3 p.m. Lisbon / 10 a.m. Pittsburgh), we will walk you through the application process for a FCT-CMU Portugal Affiliated Ph.D. Programs Scholarships. 

The sixth edition of the CMU Portugal Affiliated Ph.D. Programs Initiative offers Ph.D. scholarships in selected cutting-edge areas of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), related to the scope of the CMU Portugal Program. The application period is open from April 14th to May 12th, 2026.

To register, please fill in this online form. Credentials to join us on Zoom will be sent by email the day before the event.

Info Session Agenda

Session Moderator – Mariana Carmo  I CMU Portugal Communications Manager 

5′ – Inês Lynce I CMU Portugal National Co-Director
Welcome to the Session

10′ – João Fumega | CMU Portugal Coordination Office
Overview of the CMU Portugal Affiliated Ph.D. Programs and scholarship funding

5′ – Megan Berty | CMU Portugal Coordination Office at CMU
Research period at CMU

20′ –Tamás Karácsony  I CMU Portugal Affiliated Ph.D. student testimony
Ph.D. candidate experience

20′ – Q&A

On July 9th, the CMU Portugal Program along with the MIT Portugal Program and UT Austin Portugal, will host the session “FCT’s Partnerships with U.S. Universities:  Shaping the Future through Impactful Science” at Encontro Ciência 2025, Portugal’s largest science and technology meeting, at NOVA SBE Campus, in Carcavelos.

The joint session will shed light on the next chapter of the three programs towards 2030, while also reflecting on the legacy they have established over nearly two decades. These initiatives have served as bridges between science and society, connecting instruments such as education, research, and technology commercialization and entrepreneurship to increase their impact potential.  

The first part of this session, featuring the Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Fernando Alexandre and the Secretary of State for Science and Innovation, Helena Canhão, will focus on the core features of the Partnerships under Phase 4 and the synergies between them.

 The second part will feature a panel of invited speakers, each with a distinct engagement in the partnerships, who will share insights on the unique value of these collaborative frameworks and their role in fostering scientific advancement, capacity-building, and entrepreneurship in Portugal. Paulo Dimas, VP of Product Innovation at Unbabel and Chief Executive Officer at Center for Responsible AI, Hélder Silva, Head of Aerospace Flight Software, Thales Edisoft Portugal, and John G. Ekerdt, Professor Emeritus of the Cockrell School of Engineering, UT Austin will provide a well-rounded view of the Programs’ long-term relevance across society. 

Agenda of the session:
2:30 pm – 4 pm
Amphitheater B137 I NOVA SBE Campus, in Carcavelos.

2:30 pm  | Welcome Remarks I João Magalhães, CMU Portugal National Co-director 

2:35 pm | Part I: 2025-2030: A new chapter, a reinvigorated ambition

New thematic areas and collaboration models
Unique features and synergies between the three programs: CMU Portugal, MIT Portugal and UT Austin Portugal
Q&A

Speakers:
Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Fernando Alexandre
Secretary of State for Science and Innovation, Helena Canhão 

3:10 pm | Part II: Panel Discussion: A successful journey from the research bench to the market

Moderator: John Hansman, Co-Director for MIT Portugal, MIT, USA

Speakers:

• CMU Portugal: Paulo Dimas,  VP of Product Innovation at Unbabel and Chief Executive Officer at Center for Responsible AI, Portugal.
• MIT Portugal: Hélder Silva, Head of Aerospace Flight Software, Thales Edisoft Portugal, and  PI of AEROS, Portugal. 
• UT Austin Portugal: John G. Ekerdt, Professor Emeritus of the Cockrell School of Engineering, UT Austin and PI of UT Austin Portugal at UT Austin, USA.

 Q&A (25m)

3:55 pm | Closing Remarks I José Manuel Mendonça, UT Austin Portugal National Director

Additionally, CMU Portugal Ph.D. students will showcase their research through e-posters, which will soon be featured in the conference’s virtual gallery.

The full Program is available here.
To attend the event, registration is required through Encontro Ciência website.

Tathagata Srimani, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, will be the afternoon keynote speaker, at the event “Semiconductors: Opportunities and Challenges”,  at the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) in Braga (Portugal), presenting the session “NanoSystems: Lab-to-Fab”, on March 17th, at 2:15 -2:30 pm.

Tathagata Srimani’s participation in the event is sponsored by the CMU Portugal Program and follows the 2023 visit of CMU faculty to Portugal’s labs in nanotechnologies and material characterization.

The event is jointly organized by INL, the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), the National Innovation Agency (ANI), the Northern Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR-N) and has the institutional support of the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation and the Ministry of Economy.

To access the full program and register, visit the official website.

Inês Lynce, CMU Portugal National co-Director and INESC-ID President, will be part of  the roundtable discussion “Doctoral Models with Industry and Non-Academic Partners” at the A3ES International Conference “Doctoral Education in Transition: Addressing Challenges for Inspiring Change”, to take place November 29th, 2024, on Teatro Thalia. 

Pedro Bizarro, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer at Feedzai, a CMU Portugal Affiliated company and the first start-up launched under the Program, will also be part of the discussion panel that will be moderated by Manuel Heitor, former Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology. 

The Closing Session will feature Ana Paiva, the Secretary of State for Science, as speaker.

The full agenda of the even

t is available here.  If you wish to attend, register here.

The event will be broadcast via Youtube.