INITIATIVES
International Workshop on Innovating (IWI), 2019
IWI is a residential, hands-on program supported by the MIT Portugal Program (MPP) and co-organized by MIT. This conference exposes participants to critical elements of innovation and entrepreneurship that are central for translating ideas into solutions for real-world problems and demands.
Under the MIT Portugal Partnership 2030 (MPP2030), MIT hosted IWI 2019 in June and provided participants with the opportunity to learn from and interact with expert entrepreneurs from Boston and MIT who shared their insights on critical skills for successful innovation.
2019 IWI Student Testimonials
"My experience in the IWI was a unique and excellent opportunity to acquire knowledge, competences related with innovation and entrepreneurship and extend my professional network. At the IWI my mindset, my creativity, research and innovative capacity was stimulated. Furthermore, this opportunity allowed me to contact with experts, investors and real successful business cases and understand real-world problem-solving. Regarding to my research project, I presented and discussed my ideas with other researchers and experts in order to find out what would be the next step to follow."
João Pedro
2019 IWI Participant
"IWI is a breakthrough hands-on approach on how to establish pathways from research to consumers. I learned how to analyze my competitors, communicate with customers, and anticipate potential barriers. This conference also connected me with other PhD students, MBA students, and start-up veterans through excellent networking events. We were all able to share our ideas and collect strategies from other enterpreneur’s failures and successes. I would highly recommend this workshop!"
Aureliano Fertuzinhos
2019 IWI Participant
"The IWI workshop was amazing!! It was comforting to meet fellow colleagues who are at the same stage of limbo on whether or not to take the leap into entrepreneurship. It was inspiring to hear all the experiences from entrepreneurs about their failed and successful ventures. The professors were phenomenal and always willing to help talk through things with me. It was a very intensive workshop, but well worth the time. The workshop has really given me the encouragement and reassurance needed to pursue the next steps to continue working on my project."
Jose Simoes
2019 IWI Participant