In December 2005, José Fonseca de Moura received an email that would end up changing the future of higher education and innovation in Portugal. The sender was Manuel Heitor, then Secretary of State for Science and Innovation under Minister Mariano Gago. The message was simple but urgent: a meeting was to be held at the Palácio das Laranjeiras to discuss launching new academic programs in partnership with American universities. The timing was critical. The Bologna Process had just been implemented, enabling automatic recognition of academic degrees across Europe. There was growing concern that Portuguese students might seek degrees abroad in large numbers, triggering a potential exodus.
The solution? Make Portuguese universities more attractive, dynamic, and internationally relevant. And, from the very beginning, one area stood out: Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).
Challenge accepted! Fonseca de Moura, an electrical engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and a former student of Técnico with a Sc.D. from MIT, rolled ups his sleeves. His first step was to bring a handful of CMU professors to visit Portuguese universities. “Of 2006, I brought half a dozen CMU faculty members to several Portuguese institutions,” he recalls. These exploratory visits laid the groundwork for what would become one of the most innovative and enduring international academic partnerships ever developed by Portugal: the CMU Portugal Program.
The program was built on two pillars: industry-oriented training and cutting-edge doctoral education and research. But from the outset, Fonseca de Moura was clear with his American colleagues: “Portuguese faculty are just as good as CMU professors. The key is to create the conditions for them to deliver education and research at the same impact level.”
Dual degrees, shared standards
To ensure equal commitment and shared ownership, Fonseca de Moura proposed a bold model: a dual-degree program in which both CMU and a Portuguese university would confer degrees. Students would receive diplomas from both institutions without duplicating coursework—an approach that required deep trust and coordination. “The clearest example is the thesis,” he explains. “It’s a single document, co-supervised by faculty from both sides, validated by both.”
Convincing CMU wasn’t easy. “My colleagues initially thought it was impossible,” he recalls. But Fonseca de Moura had a broader vision: “This was a transformative program. For it to work, faculty on both sides had to be equally engaged.” He approached the Dean directly. The key, he argued, was maintaining quality: “Students should never be seen as second-tier. The program’s strength would lie in its invisibility—no one should be able to tell which student came from which side.” Today, that’s exactly the case. Students are integrated seamlessly; only advisors know their paths.
Each semester, the students like all other students, undergo rigorous evaluation—fondly referred to as “Black Friday”—based solely on merit and academic work. The verdict has been consistent: no differences in performance. CMU Portugal students are simply CMU students, indistinguishable from their peers.
With its roots in ICT, the program expanded across eight Portuguese universities (Universidade de Lisboa, Universidade Nova, Universidade Católica, Universidade do Minho, Universidade de Aveiro, Universidade do Porto, Universidade de Coimbra and Universidade da Madeira). Each institution contributes specific departments and expertise, creating a national network of excellence.
Industry partners with vision
Right from the start, industry involvement was central. Portugal Telecom, Novabase, and Siemens became foundational partners. “They had vision,” says Fonseca de Moura. “At PT alone, we trained 60 employees in these areas over five years.” This was at a time when topics like cybersecurity were barely mentioned in mainstream discussions—yet already embedded in the program.
However, skepticism abounded. “Some in academia worried that working with industry would compromise academic quality. Some companies believed universities could only produce papers, not real-world impact.” The CMU Portugal Program proved both wrong. Its structure—two years at CMU, three in Portugal—ensured the same recruitment standards and research depth as other CMU students and programs.
Startups and innovation
Nearly two decades have passed since the program’s inception, and Fonseca de Moura is often asked: why does it still matter?
“Every five years, the program is re-evaluated by new teams from the Ministry of Science. And every time, it has shown that it evolves with the times,” he explains. From phase one to phase two, a surprising development emerged: startups. While the original goal was to train professionals for industry, something unexpected happened. Portuguese students and faculty returned from CMU with a new mindset—a startup mindset.
“They saw how things were done at CMU and thought: we can do this too.” The result? Companies like Feedzai, Mambu, Veniam, and Unbabel—all founded by alumni and faculty involved in the program. A dozen such ventures appeared, small at first, uncertain of their growth. But between phases two and three, they had scaled, proving the program’s broader impact: not just in education, but in entrepreneurial culture.
An existential moment for universities
The current transition from phase three to phase four comes at a unique historical juncture. “We are in the midst of a technological shift no one could have predicted,” says Fonseca de Moura. Robotics, machine learning, artificial intelligence—these are no longer niche areas. They are reshaping industries and redefining global competition. “This is an existential moment. Either Portuguese universities commit to these fields or risk being left behind.”
For Fonseca de Moura, the opportunity is both urgent and promising. With CMU as a partner, Portugal gains privileged access to world-leading expertise, top-tier research infrastructure, and global corporate connections. “This phase is almost like returning to the beginning,” he reflects. “But this time, it’s not just about internationalizing—it’s about ensuring our universities leap forward and anchor themselves in the technologies that will define the next decades.”
He sees the next five years as a pivotal period of technological and generational renewal. “A large portion of the academic staff will retire. It’s vital that the new generation is deeply rooted in these emerging technologies.” He also points to key priority areas for the future: AI, cybersecurity, climate, sustainability, biomedicine, and the social impact of technology—from misinformation to algorithmic control.
“The pace of change is so fast, universities cannot do it alone. Collaboration is not just useful—it’s essential!”
Alexandra Mendes (Assistant Professor at FEUP and researcher at INESC TEC) and João F. Ferreira (Associate Professor at Técnico and researcher at INESC ID), two former participants of the CMU Portugal “Visiting Faculty & Researchers” initiative, are among the winners of the Fall 2024 edition of the Amazon Research Awards.
Cláudia Mamede presented the paper at the Workshop, stating that she had a great time at ICSE: “We got a lot of thoughtful questions and had great follow-up conversations with people interested in LLMs, software engineering… and bugs! 🐞”
Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) has announced the 
The CMU Portugal Affiliated company 
