Calls open until December 15, January 1 and January 15 CMU Portugal Program opens calls for Ph.D. Dual Degree Fellowships
The Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program (CMU Portugal), funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, has opened calls for the Ph.D. Dual Degree fellowships for the 2016/2017 academic year. The application deadlines are December 15, January 1 and January 15, depending on the research area considered. The Program’s doctoral degrees guarantee the award of two diplomas, one from the selected Portuguese university and one from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).
“This is a distinctive feature of the CMU Portugal Program, but it is above all a great advantage for our students in their academic and professional careers”, emphasizes João Claro, national director of the CMU Portugal Program.
And if two diplomas are an advantage, the integration into the CMU scientific community also stands out as one of the most relevant points for Ph.D. students, in this experience in the United States, since it opens many doors for international research networks.
“I believe that the Ph.D. degree offers me a broad set of abilities that will open up a number of future opportunities, “says Rui Silva, a Ph.D. student currently in Pittsburgh. Rui Silva decided to continue on his research career to the Ph.D. degree in order to broaden his knowledge in the robotics and artificial intelligence areas, and highlights “the possibility of being able to work in two top universities, taking advantage of the benefits of each one.” His first year in the doctorate program was spent in Portugal, at Instituto Superior Técnico, and in August 2016, Rui left for CMU, where he plans to do research for the next two years.
Former CMU Portugal Program Ph.D. student Bernardo Toninho had spent two years at CMU, where “the research environment is, for many reasons, particularly conducive to producing excellent work,” he says. Manuel Loureiro, a current doctoral student, considers that “this program offers the tools to seize opportunities far beyond what I thought possible.”
The present Ph.D. fellowships call encompasses a wide range of research areas, considered relevant for the national scientific development: Computer Science, Robotics, Computer Engineering, Computer and Electrical Engineering, Language Technologies, Applied Mathematics, Technological Change and Entrepreneurship, and Engineering and Public Policy.
In addition, fellowships are awarded in conjunction with the Program’s Entrepreneurial Research Initiatives, which are research projects in which knowledge development is strategically integrated with the creation of solutions to concrete problems, with social and economic impact.
Since the start of the CMU Portugal Program, in 2006, more than 900 potential students have applied for dual degree programs, of which 120 have been selected.
Also in progress, the calls for the Undergraduate Internship Program and the Faculty Exchange Program, which will allow Portuguese students, researchers and faculty to do research at CMU in Pittsburgh or in Silicon Valley, in the United States. These two initiatives will allow participants to experience best practices in research and teaching worldwide in the area of Information and Communication Technologies. The application phase for these two programs is open until November 30.
November 2016
