News: In the Media

PT-STAR Project: Researchers Create a Speech Translation System for Portuguese
Researchers from the Portuguese universities and from Carnegie Mellon carried out a new system that automatically translates speech-to-speech for Portuguese, trying to keep the characteristics of the original voice. The project is called PT-STAR and includes a speech recognizer, a translation engine and a synthesizer. Interview with Luísa Coheur, researcher at INESC-ID, and the principal investigator of this CMU Portugal research project on the portuguese side. The project puts together researchers from INESC-ID, LTI (Carnegie Mellon University), Universidade da Beira Interior, and from the Foundation of the Universidade de Lisboa.

Read the article in Portuguese at Ciência Hoje (July 30, 2012), Canal Superior Online (August 3, 2012).

Extended interview with André Martins, researcher at Priberam and winner of the 2011 IBM Scientific Award. André Martins developed a model that uses statistics to revolutionize the way computers understand the human language. With 34 years old, André Martins finished his Ph.D. in Language Technologies at the Instituto Superior Técnico of the Universidade Técnica de Lisboa (IST/UTL) and Carnegie Mellon University, in the scope of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program.

Read the Portuguese article at Exame Informática (August 01, 2012).

Vital Responder Project: Wearable Sensors for Posture Monitoring and Fall Detection for Elderly People
Researchers from the Institute of Electronics and Telematics Engineering, from the Universidade de Aveiro (IEETA / UA), in the scope of the Vital Responder project are carrying out research on Wearable Sensors for Posture Monitoring and Fall Detection for Elderly People. The demo of this research work was recently distinguished with a best demo award for Applications of Smart Wearable Sensors at the 9th International Conference on Wearable Micro and Nano Technologies for Personalized Health, held in Porto, between June 26 and 28, 2012.

Read the Portuguese article at Sol online (July 16, 2012), Diário Digital (July 16, 2012), Jornal da Madeira online (July 16, 2012), Universidade de Aveiro website (July 17, 2012) Diário de Aveiro (July 19, 2012), Diário de Leiria (July 19, 2012), Diário de Aveiro (July 25, 2012).

COMPTA Connects with Universities Through the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program’s Internships
Article on the increasing internationalization of Compta, a Portuguese company that is exporting more every year. Armindo Monteiro, head of the company, said: “Innovation is in our DNA and this is a factor of differentiation and success for the whole group. That is why we are increasingly approaching and connecting with universities, for example, through the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program’s internships, and try to retain new talents.”

Read the Portuguese article at Correio da Manhã (July 27, 2012).

Francisco Veloso said: “We Want to Educate Agents of Change”

Interview to Francisco Veloso, who is the new dean of Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics. His goals are to consolidate the internationalization of this institution and to graduate more entrepreneurial students. Francisco has a Ph.D. in Technology, Management and Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), an M.S. in Technology Management from ISEG and a Diploma in Physics Engineering from IST, both part of the Technical University of Lisbon. He is an associate professor at CATÓLICA-LISBON Lisbon School of Business and Economics, as well as an associate professor in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. He is also one of the scientific directors of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program.

Read the article in Portuguese at Diário Económico (July 09, 2012).

Researchers Around the World Take Part in the 2 nd Edition of the Lisbon Machine Learning School
With the support of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal program, the Lisbon Machine Learning School (LxMLS) returns to the Instituto Superior Técnico of the Universidade Técnica de Lisboa for the second year, after the success of the first edition in 2011. This year’s main theme are the social networks – “Taming the Social Web.” André Martins, the first Ph.D. in Language Technologies within the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program, and a researcher in Priberam, is one of the mentors and promoters of this initiative, whose main objective is to promote the machine learning area.

Read the Portuguese article at CiênciaPT (July 07, 2012).

A team of researchers from the Instituto de Telecomunicações of the Universidade de Aveiro lead by Susana Sargento is carrying out a prototype that enables cars to talk with each other. This prototype is developed in the scope of the DRIVE-IN project, which involves the Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto (FCUP), Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT), Universidade de Aveiro (UA), Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), the public institution IMTT, and companies like NDrive, Geolink, and RadiTaxis. It is supported by the Carnegie Mellon Portugal program, funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT).

Read the article in Portuguese newspapers Jornal de Notícias (July 13, 2012), Rostos.pt (July 13, 2012), TEK.SAPO (July 13, 2012), PC Guia (July 13, 2012). At the Universidade de Aveiro website (July 12, 2012)

The budget for the renewal of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal program is still unsettled. João Barros, national director of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program told a journalist that “The final decision lies with the government. Given that the scholar year ends on August 31st 2012, and we must prepare for the next one. I am confident that we will quickly complete the negotiations.”

Read the Portuguese article at the newspaper Diário Económico (July 02, 2012).

Robert Unitech said: “The Business Angels Invest in People, More Often than they Invest in Technology”
“Startup funding: Streamlining venture capitalists and business angels” was the theme for the 2 nd UTEN Workshop 2012 that was held in collaboration with the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program. This two-day workshop targeted at Technology Transfer Officers (TTO’s) and Start-Up Companies aimed to increase the awareness and knowledge about the key aspects to successfully get venture funding in the US. A renowned expert from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), Robert Unetich, was in Portugal to present his views on how to approach Venture Capital (VC). Robert M. Unetich is an active member of several Pittsburgh based venture capital firms, including Pittsburgh Equity Partners, and he is an active angel investor.

Read the article in Portugal at TEK.SAPO (July 11, 2012).