FCT and University of Berkeley sign memorandum of understanding

The FCT and the University of Berkeley formally signed a memorandum of understanding between the two institutions for the first time on 13 March, as a result of talks held during the visit to California last February by the Minister of Science, Technology, and Higher Education, Elvira Fortunato, the President of the FCT, Madalena Alves, and the Executive Director of the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD), Rita Araújo. The agreement was signed on the Portuguese behalf by the Consul General of Portugal in San Francisco, Pedro Pinto.

The form of implementation of this memorandum of understanding is already being defined, taking into account that the attendance of the University of Berkeley by Portuguese students is co-financed by the Pinto-Fialon Fund. FCT is designing a complementary support program to promote the access of Portuguese students to this university, which is one of the best in the world.

It should be remembered that in February FCT had already signed a memorandum of understanding with the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability following the visit of the President of the Republic in September last year. This is a new school at Stanford University, also in California, oriented towards research on solutions with high impact on the challenges of sustainability and climate change. It should be noted that this was the first memorandum signed by this school and another institution.