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CMU Portugal Scientific Directors visited Carnegie Mellon to foster research collaborations

A Portuguese delegation visited Carnegie Mellon University on December 12 and 13 for 2 days of networking with peers at CMU to strengthen cooperation initiatives for the third phase of the program. The delegation was composed of five CMU Portugal Scientific Directors from Portuguese Universities including Susana Sargento from the University of Aveiro, João Paulo Cunha from the University of Porto, Luís Caires from the NOVA University of Lisbon, and Rui Maranhão and Joana Mendonça both from Instituto Superior Técnico; and CMU Portugal Executive Director in Portugal, Sílvia Castro and the Head of Education João Fumega.

During the visit, organized by the CMU Portugal coordination office at CMU headed by Megan Flohr, the Portuguese committee had an opportunity to connect with CMU faculty leaders of strategic research areas of the CMU Portugal Program, heads of department and doctoral programs directors and managers of the CMU Portugal dual degree programs.

The visiting delegation had the opportunity to connect with 28 CMU faculty and researchers over the two-day visit. The CMU faculty and researchers represented 8 different departments including BioMedical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Engineering and Public Policy, the Institute for Software Research, Materials Science and Engineering, and the Robotics Institute.

The visit also aimed to provide awareness within the CMU community of the CMU Portugal initiatives that will be in place in early 2020 such as admission to the Dual PhD programs, visiting faculty and master students and future research initiatives.

During the visit a correspondent from LUSA, the Portuguese News Agency, interviewed two of CMU Portugal Scientific Directors for an overview of this visit to CMU. “I was pleased to see that CMU colleagues also consider the program as beneficial to them, and to learn that the students that we have drawn into the program are among the best candidates that they receive,” said Rui Maranhão.

He also added that in the United States, there is a really close connection between the business sector and academic research, which is beginning to happen more often in Portugal “but in a timid way” said Rui Maranhão. “In Portugal there is a long way to go, but it is possible, and the CMU Portugal Program is a good example of this effort that is confirmed by the several companies born from the previous phases of CMU Portugal.”

Susana Sargento, who was also interviewed by LUSA, considers that, “another important goal of this visit was to understand which scientific areas the program should be taken to and in which the upcoming Call for projects should be opened.”

News Article: Notícias ao Minuto

The CMU Portugal Program’s mission for Phase III is to foster industry-science relationships as agents of change with the focus on ICT research for social and economic impact. Initiatives like this last visit to CMU are an important way to promote a close bond between the two sides of the partnership and establish common ICT foundations for the future of the Program.

In the Media: Notícias ao Minuto, DNotícias, Bom dia Europa, Bom Dia Luxemburgo, Bom dia Suiça.