Knowledge Networks News 10th Meeting of the Steering Committee of the Fraunhofer-Portugal Program 10th Meeting of the Steering Committee of the Fraunhofer-Portugal Program
- 19/03/2009
The Steering Committee of the Fraunhofer-Portugal Program met on 19 March 2009 for the 10th time since the Program was set up little more than a year ago on 18 April 2007, under the scope of the Partnerships for the Future activity as part of the Commitment to Science for Portugal’s Future initiative.
The meeting, which took place in Porto, started with information regarding the visit of the President of the Portuguese Republic, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, to Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, in Munich, which took place on 5 March 2009, on the occasion of his official visit to Germany, where he was accompanied by the Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education, José Mariano Gago, and by the President of Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) and also the President of the Steering Committee of the Fraunhofer – Portugal Program, João Sentieiro, and which included a presentation from AICOS - Fraunhofer Portugal Research Center for Assistive Information and Communication Solutions which started its activities in May 2008 alongside the University of Porto, under the direction of Doctor Dirk Elias, who was hired following an international job application process held in Portugal and Germany.
The main points of the meeting concerned aspects of the setting up of AICOS, constituted so as to be the first Fraunhofer Institute outside Germany and which, after a transitory period involving operational support from the University of Porto, will become part of the Fraunhofer Portugal Association as set up in November 2009 by Fraunhofer Gesellschaft itself and by the Luso-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. A part of the meeting was attended by the Rector of the University of Porto, José Carlos Marques dos Santos, and the Vice-Rector responsible for research, Jorge Gonçalves, and was an opportunity to deal with matters of common interest and recognise the important, committed and constant role of the University of Porto in supporting the establishing of the AICOS premises, and the personal involvement of the Rector and Vice-Rector which has been essential for the success of this project.
Taking part in the Steering Committee meeting of the Fraunhofer – Portugal Program was its President and the President of Science and Technology Foundation (FCT), João Sentieiro, the President of Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC), Luis Magalhães, Professor Pedro Guedes de Oliveira, Doctor Georg Rosenfeld from the President’s office of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft (FhG) and Professor José Luis Encarnação, also from FhG. During most of the matters considered, the meeting was attended by the Director of AICOS, Dirk Elias.
Following the meeting the Steering Committee of the Fraunhofer – Portugal Program visited AICOS, conversed with its researchers and observed demonstrations of the projects being carried out.