UT Austin|Portugal Program: second international partnership renewed

The memorandum of understanding guaranteeing the continuity of the UT Austin|Portugal Program for the next five years was signed on November 5, 2012, representing an investment of €2 million per year by the Foundation for Science and Technology(*).

Launched in 2007, the UTAustin|Portugal Program has enabled collaboration between the University of Texas at Austin and universities and research centers in Portugal, focusing on three specific academic areas—Digital Media, Advanced Computing, and Mathematics—as well as the creation of a business network for the commercialization and internationalization of science and technology produced in Portugal—UTEN (University Technology Enterprise Network). Over the past five years, the Program has brought together more than 40 professors and researchers and 120 students from various Portuguese institutions, including universities, research centers, and laboratories, who have benefited from regular visits to the University of Texas at Austin, where they have had the opportunity to study and further their doctoral projects.

The UTEN network will be one of the major focuses for the second phase of this partnership. Based on the foundations laid by UTEN, a nationwide technology and knowledge transfer program will be developed, with the aim of enabling Portuguese companies to benefit from the results of research projects and contributing to the professionalization of technology transfer activities.

The UTAustin|Portugal Program stands out particularly for its efforts to connect the academic world with national companies, which the partnership has fostered. Through CoLab (International Collaboratory for Emerging Technologies), several initiatives have already been carried out in partnership with companies such as ZON (ZON Multimedia Creativity Award) and YDreams, resulting in added value for both the companies and the Program community.

Following the renewal of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program, this is the second international partnership to guarantee its continuity for another five years, revealing the Ministry of Education and Science's commitment to supporting and continuing the work developed in these partnerships.

It is expected that the agreement to renew the MIT-Portugal Program, also for five years, will be signed in 2012, and that the second phase of these three partnerships will begin in January 2013. The first phase of the Fraunhofer-Portugal Program (with Germany) and the partnership with Harvard Medical School is still ongoing, with renewals planned for 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Based on the assessment carried out by the Academy of Finland, the second phase of the partnerships will place greater emphasis on joint research projects between universities/research centers and companies, aimed at solving specific problems and involving students and researchers. There will thus be a shift in focus from postgraduate training and the creation of critical mass to strengthening innovation and entrepreneurship.

* The event was attended by the President of FCT, Miguel Seabra, the National Director of the Program, Nuno Correia, the Director at the University of Texas, Robert Peterson, as well as representatives from some Portuguese universities involved in this partnership between Portugal and the University of Texas at Austin.