The work developed by the UT Austin Portugal Program and the challenges and opportunities that the future of the Partnership may bring — this were the topics of discussion among representatives of the Program’s Directorate, who received a visit from John Ekerdt in Portugal.
The Principal Investigator of the UT Austin Portugal Program and Professor Emeritus at UT Austin was also able to follow the ongoing work to organize a colloquium in September at UT that will bring together experts from Portugal and the US partner but also discuss what the Partnership could be after 2024 and how it could continue to create value for the country and its international positioning in Science, Technology, and Innovation.
The future, the work in progress, and the initiatives planned for the second half of 2024 marked the agenda of John Ekerdt’s visit to Portugal. At a time when an external evaluation process of FCT’s International Partnerships is underway, which will have to be taken into account by the Ministry when deciding on their future after December 31, 2024, members of the UT Austin Portugal Program Board met in Portugal.
The discussion also covered some of the activities planned for the second half of 2024, namely a colloquium that will be held at UT Austin, mobilizing experts from both sides for a forward-looking exercise, focusing on the significant challenges that lie ahead for Portugal and also on the value of scientific cooperation with a state like Texas in areas such as Nanotechnologies, Advanced Computing, Energy and Space-Earth Interactions. The guidelines for the UT Austin Portugal Program’s Annual Conference were also discussed, and more information will soon be made available to the Program’s community about this year’s event, which is moving south to debate science with impact.
“The visit to Portugal by John Ekerdt and Marco Bravo, Co-Principal Investigator and Executive Director of the UT Austin Portugal Program at the US university – was an excellent opportunity to discuss the Partnership’s activity for the coming months and also in the long term, in a scenario of renewal,” explains Rui Oliveira.
According to the Co-Director of the UT Austin Portugal Program, several activities are planned between now and the end of 2024, including the start of another mobility initiative, with short-term research internships beginning at the end of the third quarter of 2024, an unprecedented colloquium at UT Austin, the Annual Conference and a series of advanced training courses with Texas Engineering Executive Education, UT’s Cockrell School of Engineering or the Southwest I-Corps Hub aimed at researchers, students, industry professionals and entrepreneurs in Portugal.
In addition, he recalls that the recently approved exploratory projects are starting at this time. “We therefore foresee many opportunities to advance science and technology through this collaboration, which is on its way to two decades of existence,” he concludes.
In the second part of the meeting, the participants explored opportunities for collaboration in research and innovation in the semiconductor area, taking advantage of initiatives and strategic agendas on both sides of the Atlantic.
INESC TEC was represented by João Claro, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Aníbal Matos, member of the Board of Directors, Rui Oliveira, National Co-Director of the UT Austin Portugal Program, João Peças Lopes, coordinator of TEC4Energy, Ricardo Bessa, coordinator of the Energy Systems Center, Luís Miguel Pinho, researcher at the Center for Human-Centered Computing and Information Science, João Canas Ferreira, researcher at the Center for Telecommunications and Multimedia, Andreia Passos, head of the International Relations Service and Executive Director of the UT Austin Portugal Program, and Vera Pinto, member of the International Relations Service and coordinator of the Program’s Reporting and Mobility areas.
