José Manuel Mendonça, coordinator of the Portugal-U.S. strategic partnerships, and Pedro Oliveira, Dean of Nova SBE and a key collaborator of CMU Portugal, were featured in an episode of the Transatlantic Talks podcast, created in partnership with ECO, as part of the American Chamber in Portugal’s 75th‑anniversary celebrations.
This episode took a deep dive into the creation of partnerships – CMU Portugal and MIT Portugal in 2006, and UT Austin Portugal in 2007 – and their role in Portugal’s internationalization. The discussion highlighted how these partnerships changed the Portuguese academic ecosystem, boosted innovation and entrepreneurship, internationalized higher education, and opened doors for new strategic collaborations.
While investing in areas such as nanotechnologies, advanced computing, digital media, and smart manufacturing, Portuguese universities created technology transfer offices, learning from the American model. In the past 20 years, there was a significant increase in patent registrations and the launch of start-ups, such as Feedzai (the 1st startup launched under CMU Portugal that became the 2nd Unicorn Company born under the partnership).
According to Pedro Oliveira, the partnerships have strengthened Portugal’s ability to attract European funding, investing more not only in projects but also in Portugal’s highly qualified talent, internationally recognized.
In late 2024, the Portugal-U.S. partnerships were renewed until 2030, with a budget of 90 million euros. Looking ahead, José Manuel Mendonça hopes these partnerships will play a decisive role in narrowing the productivity gap with the United States.
Watch and listen to the episode here (in Portuguese).
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the collaboration, the three partnerships will jointly organize the “From Knowledge to Competitiveness” summit, taking place on October 30th at Universidade de Aveiro.
The event will bring together researchers, students, industry leaders, policymakers, and innovation stakeholders across the three communities to discuss how science, technology, and innovation can drive Portugal’s competitiveness and global impact.
More information about the event (registration, venue, agenda) is available on the official webpage.