The CMU Portugal Program hosted on June 4th an Info Session to guide potential candidates to apply to the Open Calls for Mobility Programs “Visiting Students” and “Visiting Faculty & Researchers”. To date, the CMU Portugal Program has supported 69 Visiting Students and 96 Faculty and Researchers visits to Carnegie Mellon University.
The Info Session, held via Zoom, gathered 28 participants, including students, faculty, and researchers who were interested in learning about the key steps for a successful application and how to get the opportunity to spend a research period at CMU until the end of 2025.
Applications are open until June 17th.
The session was moderated by the Program’s Communications and Events Officer, Mariana Carmo, who welcomed the participants.
João Fumega, CMU Portugal’s Education Officer, gave an overview of both CMU Portugal Mobility initiatives, focusing on the application process and main requirements. Megan Berty, CMU Portugal Associate Director at CMU, spoke next on the CMU requirements and the support available by the Coordination office in Pittsburgh.
Next, Gabriel Santos, MSc graduate in Biomedical Engineering at Universidade de Coimbra, shared his experience as Visiting Student in 2024. Gabriel was hosted by Professor Carmel Majidi in the Mechanical Engineering Department. His research focuses on Tunable Stiffness Neural Probes, working at the Soft and Printed Microelectronics Laboratory of the Institute of Systems and Robotics – Coimbra, which has been working closely with Professor Carmel Majidi.
Anna Bernard, assistant professor of Economics and researcher at Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, was a Visiting Faculty and Researcher in 2024, hosted at the Heinz College by Professor Michael D. Smith. Her research interests lie at the intersection of cultural and digital economics, with a focus on the music industry and crowdfunding for creative projects using experimental and online data. Anna had heard positive feedback from former participants of the Visiting program, which convinced her to apply.
Gabriel and Anna shared positive feedback about their time at CMU. They talked about the straightforward application processes to the Visiting Programs, advising potential applicants to take care of logistics, especially applying for a visa and housing, as early as possible. They also enjoyed immersing themselves in Pittsburgh’s culture, namely the sports scene. Finally, they highlighted the value of attending the numerous seminars, using the university’s research labs and resources, and building connections with peers and professors.
Finally, to wrap up the session, there was a 15-minute Q&A, which allowed the participants to ask questions to the panelists.
For further questions about all our initiatives, please visit our website, or contact us at apply@cmuportugal.org.
