New Facilities of M-ITI Reflect the Commitment to the CMU Portugal Program’s Mission
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The Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute (M-ITI), a not-for-profit innovation institution, which was created in the scope of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program in 2009, opened its new facilities on March 22, 2013. The national director of the Program, João Claro, stated at the inauguration ceremony that M-ITI is “an exemplary realization of the mission of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program.” |
In his speech, João Claro highlighted M-ITI’s successful investment in its Professional Master’s Degrees, running in the scope of the CMU Portugal Program, which is funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia. As part of a high level training supported by a diverse group of faculty members, the students carry out a capstone project, which aims at addressing real world problems. These projects have attracted established companies, such as Logica or Novabase, to collaborate with M-ITI, but are also a way to start new companies, as is the case with the startup Mambu (more information available at https://cmuportugal.org/tiercontent.aspx?id=4506 ). “M-ITI’s perseverance in investing in Professional Master’s and in finding sustainable solutions for their future is unique and is an example that many other institutions should follow,” stated João Claro.
| The new space will welcome faculty, researchers and students, as well as support services, and will continue to host research on computer science and human-computer interaction. It is expected that the facilities will help M-ITI in joining the best institutions in Europe working in this area. “The US are much stronger, but we think that Madeira can have the ambition of having an international center of excellence in this area,” said the president of M-ITI, Nuno Nunes, who is also one of the scientific directors of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program. The vice-president of the Regional Government of Madeira, João Cunha e Silva, also attended the ceremony and confirmed the Institute’s potential: “I feel I am at a place where the future will grow, I have no doubt about it,” he stated. |  |
The Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute was created by the Universidade da Madeira, the Madeira Tecnopolo and by Carnegie Mellon University, as an honorary partner. The goal was to provide a home for the various collaborations between these partners, in both research and education. The Institute operates in the multidisciplinary field of Human-Computer Interaction, receiving contributions from the areas of Information Technology, Design and Psychology.
April 2013
