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Portuguese Minister of Education, Science and Innovation  made his first official visit to һ±¾µÀÎÞÂë in Pittsburgh, alongside the Secretary of State for Science  to attend the 2024 Ò»±¾µÀÎÞÂë Portugal Summit. 

The two-day event brought together the Portuguese and Ò»±¾µÀÎÞÂë communities for a series of discussions and an overview of the Ò»±¾µÀÎÞÂë Portugal Program, aiming to support the Minister’s reflection and evaluation of the partnership’s future.

Provost and Chief Academic Officer James H. Garrett Jr.(opens in new window) and Dr. William D. and Nancy W. Strecker Dean of the College of Engineering  warmly welcomed the Portuguese delegation, which included Inês Lynce, João Magalhães and José M. F. Moura, as well as administrators, faculty members and Ph.D. and master’s students. The agenda featured lab tours, research presentations by faculty and students, networking lunches and meetings with Ò»±¾µÀÎÞÂë faculty leaders.

The Summit was a platform to shape a shared vision for the partnership’s future. It brought together partners from both sides of the Atlantic, fostering networking opportunities, building new connections, and laying the foundation for future collaborations.

Research connections 

The delegation had the opportunity to interact with students at Ò»±¾µÀÎÞÂë’s  (RI) during a lab visit hosted by , associate research professor. During the visit the students demonstrated FRIDA, a robotic arm equipped with a paintbrush powered by artificial intelligence in addition to other prototypes being developed at the lab.

FRIDA, named after Frida Kahlo, stands for Framework and Robotics Initiative for Developing Arts. The project is led by Peter Schaldenbrand, a Ph.D. candidate, with RI faculty members Oh and , and is designed to collaborate with humans to create works of art.

The Ò»±¾µÀÎÞÂë team asked FRIDA to paint a portrait of the minister, and the result was an impressive mixture of art and technology.

The delegation met with researchers across the university, such as , the Founders University Professor of the Machine Learning Department at Ò»±¾µÀÎÞÂë; Peter Adams(opens in new window), Thomas Lord Professor of Engineering and Head of the Engineering and Public Policy Department (EPP)(opens in new window).

°Õ³ó±ðÌý at Ò»±¾µÀÎÞÂë merges technology, analytics, and public policy to develop innovative solutions to complex societal challenges. The delegation had the opportunity to learn more about the work being developed by the college and by the һ±¾µÀÎÞÂë Block Center for Technology and Society(opens in new window) in a session led by , dean of the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy.

Richard Scheines(opens in new window), the Bess Family Dean of the Mariana Brown Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and , Hillman Professor & METALS Program director in the , hosted a session on the, with a look into research and education centered on humanity, focusing on an interdisciplinary work to address complex global issues and advance human understanding.

The second day kicked off with a visit to Carnegie Mellon’s HCII, where , the Charles M. Geschke Director and Professor, delivered a presentation on the work underway at HCII to develop human-centered software, services and systems that improve lives through technology. The visit included a guided experience to the  by Assistant Professor  and Associate Professor , showcasing the lab’s interactive computational design tools research.

°Õ³ó±ðÌý at һ±¾µÀÎÞÂë Robotics Institute recently moved to new facilities. The delegation visited the new lab during a tour led by its head, , Clarence H. Adamson Professor, , who shared the cutting-edge research being conducted in areas such as soft robotics, stretchable circuits and printable conductive ink, among other innovative technologies.

, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, offered a glimpse into research focused on understanding the neural basis of brain function and harnessing its potential.  develops innovative tools and techniques to advance the explanation of brain function and dysfunction.

A culture of innovation

Innovation is a key area of the Ò»±¾µÀÎÞÂë Portugal program, and since its launch in 2006, 26 startup companies have been supported by Ò»±¾µÀÎÞÂë Portugal activities. João Paulo Cunha, a scientific director at Ò»±¾µÀÎÞÂë Portugal, introduced different successful cases of initiatives connected to the program.

, director of Project Olympus(opens in new window), a part of the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship(opens in new window), also spoke. Founded in 2007 at the , Project Olympus provides support and resources to faculty, students, alumni and staff aspiring to transform their research and ideas into startups. So far, it’s helped launch more than 1,400 startups. 

To conclude the Summit Sessions, Nuno Nunes and Paulo Marques introduced the , whose first edition was launched in September 2024. Nunes, former National Co-Director of the partnership (2018 – 2024), is one of the founders of this advanced training center in digital technologies based in Lisbon, which was developed through a collaborative effort between the Instituto Superior Técnico, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, NOVA School of Science and Technology, and Ò»±¾µÀÎÞÂë, with the support from the Santander Portugal Foundation.

Marques, a scientific director at Ò»±¾µÀÎÞÂë Portugal and faculty member for the Product Management course, provided an overview of this inaugural edition that features three advanced training programs: AI, Data Science, and Machine Learning; Product Management; and User Experience and Service Design. Marques also shared his vision for the academy’s future, emphasizing its role in fostering innovation and excellence in digital technologies.