Technology Office

International Partnerships

Latest News

28.06.2019 - Applications for the 2019 Call for Exploratory Proposals - Carnagie Mellon Portugal Program (Announcement of the Call)

Mission

International Programmes

Documents

Academy of Finland Report

The International Partnerships’ strategic mission is to enable, foster and strengthen scientific collaboration among Portuguese universities and their integration into internationally acknowledged networks.

Launched in 2006, the International Partnership programmes bolster Portuguese scientific institutions by nurturing innovative research projects and the training of highly qualified human resources, to strengthen scientific and technological competences in Portugal.

The first fase of the International Partnerships ended in 2012. An independent external evaluation led by the Academy of Finland recommended renewal of the programmes and subsequent implementation of a second phase, in light of the established potential of this model for promoting R&D and cultural change.

The second phase of the partnerships is currently in progress. The activities undertaken by the programmes have as a common goal the promotion of research with an strong entrepreneurial connection. The main mission of these programmes is now to promote innovation-focused scientific research, with a strong technology transfer component.

The calls for R&D grants launched by FCT within these partnerships will thus focus on developing innovative research with strong potential economic impact, and that incorporate strong links between academia and industry.

OBJECTIVES FOR PHASE 2:

To contribute to the internationalisation of Portuguese universities and laboratories;
To increase cooperation between the agents of the Portuguese scientific system;
To promote access to R&D equipment;
To promote a change of culture in the Portuguese scientific system;
To generate economic impact.

Focus areas:

Education and training
- Traditional and professional masters programmes (focused on the needs of business and industry); PhD and post-doctoral programmes;

Scientific research project grants;
Innovation and entrepreneurship activities.

Facts and figures of first phase of the International Partnerships:

22 calls for project grants and 91 funded proposals involving over 80 companies;
Over 440 PhD scholarships awarded;
104 Portuguese faculty members in exchange programmes with participating American universities.
27 UTEN University Technology Enterprise Network technology transfer interneships;
17 new start-ups