A new research partnership proposed between MIT Portugal and Continental Mabor and 96 doctoral students’ posters were two highlights of the MIT Portugal Program’s strong presence at this year’s edition of Ciência, an annual conference that offers an “encounter with science and technology.” The Ciência 2010 conference was held July 4-7, 2010, at the Lisbon Centro de Congressos, organized by the Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT) and the Council of Associated Laboratories (CLA) in association with Ciência Viva.  Luis Rocha (UMinho) presents on his "smart stent" project This year’s edition was marked by the participation of a record 2500 participants, 150 research units, more than 400 PhD posters, and many university representatives and elected officials. It gathered not only students and faculty but also around 60 companies and research centers, allowing the program to address a wide variety of thematic areas and to foster symbiosis among companies, universities and research centers. The MIT Portugal Program presence in Ciência 2010 was grounded in the posters of 96 PhD students from the Program’s four educational areas, as well as several session speakers and moderators. MIT Portugal National Director, Paulo Ferrão, Lino Ferreira from the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology - CNC, José Viegas and Miguel Tavares da Silva from IST, Vítor Leal from LAETA and Luís Rocha from the University of Minho were some of the faculty that presented sessions in their fields of expertise. Reinforcing the industry linkage with the MIT Portugal Program, Continental CEO Lopes Seabra gave a session in which he explained a three-year research project that will be developed with the Program. This project will involve three PhD students and the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), Instituto Superior Técnico of the Technical University of Lisbon (IST), and the University of Minho (UMinho). Building on Continental’s participation in the JobShop initiative of the Leaders for Technical Industries doctoral program of the Engineering Design and Advanced Manufacturing area, the ultimate goal of this project is to increase Continental’s competitiveness.
Among the PhD students that presented their work at the conference, Leonardo Rosado and André Pina, PhD students in Sustainable Energy Systems, were also session presenters, in a session that featured João Nuno Mendes, Director of Innovation from GALP, and which focused on a research project being proposed with MIT Portugal in the area of smart metering of home energy consumption.
João Pita, a PhD student in Transportation Systems, also moderated a session dedicated to Post-Graduate Programs in Portugal that included panelists Marco Leite and Hrvoje Keko, PhD students from the LTI and Sustainable Energy Systems courses, and which featured a debate among students about what kind of enhancements are needed for Post-Graduate Studies in Portugal.
As in previous editions of this event, there were also Bio-Teams sessions given by MIT Portugal PhD students in Bioengineering, who had the chance to show their latest innovations derived from research collaborations with Portuguese universities, companies and research labs.
The Secretary of State of Science and Technology, Professor Manuel Heitor, highlighted the human potential underneath the scientific skills and the new challenges ahead in terms of science internationalization for the upcoming years. Professor João Sentieiro, the President of FCT, concluded that “moments like these makes us want to do more, searching continuously for new solutions and new improvements and being curious for knowledge”. For additional information and session presentations please consult the website of Ciência 2010. |
