The Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program
The Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program is a platform for education, research and innovation that brings together Portuguese universities, research institutions and companies, and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). The partnership was launched in 2006, and was renewed for another five years in 2012. Its mission is to place Portugal at the forefront of innovation in key focused areas of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), by promoting cutting-edge research, world-class graduate education and a close collaboration with the Portuguese industry. Its activities are funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), supported by the Conselho de Reitores das Universidades Portuguesas (CRUP), and co-financed by business partners and by CMU.
The program leverages a vibrant research community, a solid and close partnership between faculty at Portuguese universities and at CMU, a strong collaboration with industry, and a deep integration in international knowledge networks.
The key instruments of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program are: talent development of faculty, students and professionals from the industry, through dual degree Ph.D. and Professional Masters programs, a faculty exchange and an undergraduate internship programs; research and innovation in potentially commercializable technologies, through multidisciplinary projects carried out by integrated teams from universities and companies, with an orientation towards new products and services for international markets; the inRes Program; and industry collaboration through an Industry Affiliates program. These instruments are applied in focused areas of ICT where Portugal can gain competitive advantages, continuously under discussion in the scientific and industrial communities.
This joint venture was launched in 2006 and it is successfully achieving its goals through an open, broad and deep collaboration. It has had a tangible impact on the scientific culture, the research output, and the entrepreneurial capability of the ICT sector in Portugal. This was recognized as a first overall conclusion in the recent assessment of the partnership carried out by the Academy of Finland, which recognized its “great potential in promoting R&D&I, and cultural change, [with its] ambitious agenda for taking Portugal to the next level in innovation activity.”
For the period 2013-2017, Phase II will strengthen and foster strong consortia specialized in academic, research, and innovation programs in focused ICT areas with potential impact in international markets, while facilitating the development of a new generation of leaders with a global perspective and unique research and entrepreneurial capabilities.
CMU Portugal Program: Highlights and Opportunities from CMUPortugal_
Useful documents:
Roadmap for the Second Phase of the CMU Portugal Program 2012-2017 more
Strategic Plan: “An Innovation Agenda for Research, Technology and Graduate Education” more
Progress Report 2009-2012 more
Progress Report from 2005 – 2008 more
Public Reports:
External Review Committee Public Statement 2017 more
Project Review Committee Report 2015 more
Project Review Committee Report 2013 more
External Review Committee Public Statement 2013 more
External Review Committee Public Statement 2012 more
Project Review Committee Report 2011 more
Project Review Committee Report 2010 more
External Review Committee Public Statement 2009 more
Last update: September, 2017
