A Springboard for Catalyzing the Innovation Ecosystem in Portugal  Frederico Ferreira (IST), Ana Teixeira (ITQB), and Luísa Ferreira Lopes (FCT-UNL) on the MIT campus. Frederico Ferreira holds an MIT Portugal Invited Assistant Professorship at Instituto Superior Técnico – Technical University of Lisbon (IST), in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. He holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London and an MBA jointly given by the Faculty of Economics of the New University of Lisbon and the Catholic University of Portugal. Frederico is a graduate in Applied Chemistry from FCT-UNL. Luísa Ferreira Lopes is Assistant Professor in FCT-UNL, where she is the Chair of the Economics of Innovation postgraduate course. She holds a PhD in Economics of Innovation from the Technical University of Lisbon and is an Economics graduate of the New University of Lisbon. Before entering academia, she was a project manager and consultant at IBM Portugal. * * * How did you become involved in the MIT Portugal Program? Frederico: Because of my hybrid training and experience I find projects built on the interface between different scientific fields particularly rewarding, since they tend to lead to significant knowledge advances and scientific/technological impacts. I was looking for interesting challenges where membrane technology can provide solutions, and found the area of stem cells and tissue engineering extremely appealing. I became aware of the importance of reactor design and material engineering for medical devices and tissue engineering. When MIT Portugal at IST advertised a position in this area I was strongly motivated to invest my time in this field. Ana: ITQB is a participating institution in the Bioengineering focus area of MIT Portugal, and had been receiving Bio students during their lab rotations. I was finishing my doctoral studies this past year and knew about the program. I was pleased to have the chance to continue as a researcher within the context of MIT Portugal. Luisa: The leaders of the Bio focus area at FCT-UNL decided that it would be valuable to have an economist become engaged with i-Teams at MIT. Because my research focuses on innovation and university–industry relations, I think they considered my background suited for taking full advantage of this experience. And for me it was a great opportunity to come to MIT and learn about its innovation ecosystem. You have been at MIT for one month. What has your experience been so far? Ana: I am having a terrific experience in i-Teams, working on a drug delivery project. Working with my team has pushed me to learn about the complex and costly process of bringing a drug or a medical device to market, gaining FDA approval, and other challenges. I like the way that MIT professors get our attention with many pertinent questions that we have to consider when evaluating the best strategy to turn an idea into a commercially viable product. Luisa: The three of us agreed that we should be on separate teams within the i-Teams course in order to maximize our exposure to different ways of thinking and grow our network. But while we are not a group in i-Teams, it’s good for us to be here at same time, to exchange ideas and to connect things to our experience in Portugal. We would not get to know each other if we stayed in Portugal, so the time we spend here together is more profitable, and will help us to build bridges among our institutions in Portugal when we return. What is most striking about the i-Teams course compared to courses in Portugal is that the students work, not the teacher. It is the students who are empowered to move their projects forward, with the support of the teacher – but without hand-holding. Frederico: So far it is extremely interesting, as we learn to take an idea from the lab and make it a business opportunity. It is a challenge to handle uncertainty and be able to make structured, quality decisions with little information. This is only possible when you interact closely with the real world of technology companies and people who work in that field. In that sense, the MIT ecosystem and network offers us valuable resources, making available contacts with diverse people – ranging from venture capitalists, FDA experts, technological licensing officers, entrepreneurs, members of larger companies – and just as important, scientists with excellent ideas and work. All of this in such a casual way, which is great. What role do you hope to play in your institution in Portugal after you return? Luísa: I think the thing Portuguese institutions can gain from MIT is the transfer of responsibility from faculty to students. This is the way our universities have to move, and it has to start with teachers in Portugal making it possible for students to take initiative. Being here has changed my expectations and approach to students, and I will try to convey to my colleagues this more “MIT-style” approach. I am also available and willing to contribute to any initiatives in the innovation-entrepreneurship domain in Portugal, such as the BioTeams, and to share with my Bioengineering colleagues and FCT-UNL what I’ve learned about the MIT ecosystem.
Frederico: Luisa is right, there is a process of translation and adaptation that has to happen for MIT methods to work in Portugal. One example that I would like to convey is the 100K business plan competition, which at MIT is led entirely by students. I would like to join the BioTeams faculty group that is doing such a great job in Portugal. In general I would like to push for more hands-on degree programs and classes at IST and throughout Portugal. Ana: I think the most important achievement of the MIT-Portugal Program is creating networks of institutions within Portugal. My experience here at MIT and with Frederico and Luísa will guide me to introduce new classes with an emphasis on innovation at my own institution, and to look for ways to expand the collaboration between ITQB and other Portuguese faculties and research centers. How can you be an exponent of the “MIT way” of creating and implementing courses in innovation such as i-Teams?
Frederico: One key aspect of i-Teams is the mixing of students from different courses, which creates a much richer environment for collaboration and innovation. I hope to introduce an optional class on “Green Technology and Business” at the Master’s level at IST, which I believe can implement a hands-on strategy. Ana: The Portuguese system does not provide very much time in the summer or during the year for students or faculty to work outside the university, to engage with industry or other non-academic researchers. We can try to find small ways to introduce our colleagues and students to the advantages they might gain from collaborating outside the university in these ways, perhaps by working with industry affiliates of the Bioengineering group. Luísa: The main thing I would like to demonstrate are different attitudes that faculty can take in developing their classes and their relations with students, with a more hands-on content – the aim being to foster greater student’s autonomy and initiative.
More about i-Teams, Bio Teams, and the MIT Portugal Program: | 
