On July 15th, the CMU Portugal Program was part of the inaugural edition of the “Ciência e Inovação” (Science and Innovation) Conference in Lisbon, the first major event organized by the Agency for Research and Innovation’s (AI²) presided by João Barros, former CMU Portugal National Co-Director.
The event opened with remarks from João Barros and Portuguese Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro. They were joined off stage by Fernando Alexandre, Minister of Education, Science, and Innovation; Helena Canhão, Secretary of State for Science and Innovation, and Madalena Alves, President of FCT. In his intervention, Luís Montenegro encouraged the scientific community to prepare for the next EU funding cycle starting in 2028, confident that Portugal will stand out, especially through partnerships between academia and industry.
CMU Portugal was part of the “International Partnerships for Excellence” session, with the panel ‘FCT’s International Partnerships with American Universities’, organized jointly by the CMU Portugal, MIT Portugal, and UT Austin Portugal programs. The opening remarks were delivered by José Manuel Mendonça, Coordinator of International Partnerships, who highlighted the creation of the three university partnerships back in 2006, under the leadership of the late Minister for Science and Higher Education, Mariano Gago.
Now two decades after their launch, these partnerships have consolidated their position within the scientific and educational frameworks, backed by two rigorous international evaluations. Furthermore, Mendonça referred to the Program’s educational initiatives as a benchmark for innovation and entrepreneurship, successfully launching high-impact companies and shared the example of Feedzai – the first startup launched under the CMU Portugal Program – which reached a $2 billion valuation in 2025.
The panel “Transatlantic Cooperation Instruments in Research” followed, featuring the National Co‑Directors of the university partnerships: Inês Lynce (CMU Portugal), Alexandre Ferreira da Silva (MIT Portugal), and Rute Ferreira (UTAustin Portugal), who presented their respective programs.
Inês Lynce highlighted the initiatives CMU Portugal has implemented over the last 20 years to strengthen the Portuguese education, research, and innovation ecosystem such a as Dual Degree Ph.D. Programs, the Mobility initiatives (the Visiting Faculty and Researchers Program and the Visiting Students Program) as well as the collaborative research projects developed between Portuguese universities and Carnegie Mellon University.
To wrap up the session the directors of the three international partnerships engaged in a debate, moderated by Rui Munhá (FCT).
The three international partnerships will reunite on October 30th, in Aveiro, for a joint conference to highlight the work developed throughout Phase IV (2025–2030), as announced by José Manuel Mendonça.
More about the Ciência & Inovação event here.