MIT-Portugal Program Enters Phase 4, Continuing Two Decades of Transatlantic Innovation
The MIT-Portugal Program (MPP), a pioneering collaboration between MIT and Portuguese universities, research institutions, and corporations, has officially entered its fourth phase. Building on 19 years of success, which includes enabling 47 entrepreneurial spinoffs and funding over 220 joint projects, Phase 4 will run through 2030, furthering exploration of innovative solutions in areas like artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and climate change.
An agreement was signed in March between MIT and the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) to mark the beginning of this new chapter. Douglas Hart, MIT mechanical engineering professor and MPP co-director, emphasized the value of the program’s longevity: “Over the years, we’ve learned each other’s systems, strengths, and weaknesses and we’ve been able to create a synergy that would not have existed if we worked together for a short period of time.”
John Hansman, the T. Wilson Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT and MPP co-director, expressed enthusiasm for expanding the program’s research projects and incorporating new focus areas identified by both MIT and FCT. Fernando Alexandre, Portugal’s minister for education, science, and innovation, highlighted the foundation of trust built over the past two decades: “In this new phase…we expect even greater ambition and impact — raising Portuguese science and its capacity to transform the economy and improve our society to even higher levels.”
MIT President Sally Kornbluth underscored the importance of international collaborations like MPP: “MPP offers our faculty and students opportunities to work in unique research environments where they not only make new findings and learn new methods but also contribute to solving urgent local and global problems.”
MPP encompasses an annual research conference, educational summits like the Innovation Workshop at MIT and the Marine Robotics Summer School in the Azores, and student and faculty exchanges. During Phase 3, 59 MIT students and 53 faculty visited Portugal, while MIT hosted 131 students and 49 faculty from Portuguese institutions.
Phase 4 will maintain focus on areas from Phase 3, including climate science, Earth systems, digital transformation in manufacturing, and sustainable cities, while adding new areas like chips/nanotechnology, energy, artificial intelligence, and space. Hansman noted the broadening of the collaboration areas. Hart added that Phase 4 will place greater emphasis on educational exchanges and entrepreneurship, in addition to collaborative research.
The program’s impact on Portugal’s progress over the past two decades is significant. Hansman stated, “The Portugal of today is remarkably stronger than the Portugal of 20 years ago, and many of the places where they are stronger have been impacted by the program.” Hart also noted the increase in start-up companies coming out of Portuguese universities since MPP began.
A recent analysis of MPP and FCT’s U.S. collaborations highlighted enhanced Portuguese research capacities and organizational upgrades in the national R&D ecosystem. The report also noted the facilitation of education for 198 Portuguese PhDs through MPP.
This summer, the Azores will host MPP’s fifth annual Marine Robotics Summer School, offering a two-week course to students from Portugal and MIT. Stefanie Mueller, a professor at MIT, emphasized the program’s role in her research on monitoring the aquatic microbiome: “The MIT-Portugal Program has been a key enabler of our research on monitoring the aquatic microbiome for potential disease outbreaks.”
As MPP moves forward, Hart and Hansman are optimistic about its continued success and broader impact, aiming to involve more people from both MIT and Portugal in various technical and social science fields.
