The Program hosted the first meeting of the year with its Area Directors to present the 2019 Annual Report and discuss future actions and contributions for 2020.
Held at INESC TEC, Porto, the meeting brought together the Program’s National Director, the Executive Directors in Portugal and at UT Austin and the Portuguese Area Directors from Phase 3’s core scientific areas for a review of 2019 and a look into the year that is just starting.
One of the core messages conveyed by the Leadership was that the Program’s journey in 2019 was punctuated by important accomplishments that shall produce results this year and in those to come. The 2020 Activity Plan, presented and discussed in detail in this meeting, was conceived to take the best possible advantage from the momentum gained over the last twelve months and to further encourage effective partnerships through collaborative R&D projects and high-level education and training opportunities between Portugal and Austin.
The importance of the role of the Area Directors in the Program’s pursuit of scientific excellence and alignment with national and international research innovation agendas was particularly emphasized in several occasions. The meeting offered the right setting for Area Directors to present concrete proposals for training and networking initiatives in 2020 as well as potential partners to bring on board.
Area Directors are, undeniably, first-line ambassadors of the UT Austin Portugal Program, contributing to brand awareness and effectiveness in and outside of the Partnership’s geographic scope.
