– Support Documents
– Applications
– FAQ
– Latest News

The MPP Flagship Projects are part of a Research and Development initiative under the International Partnerships with Carnegie Mellon University, MIT, and the University of Texas at Austin. The Agência Nacional de Inovação (ANI) is the body designated to receive and analyze the projects. According to ANI, there are a total of 41 applications (9 MPP specific projects); more than 71 M€ of requested investment (overall); and 184 project promoters—71 of which are companies and 113 are non-corporate entities.

MC 04 / S1 / 2019
System of Incentives for Research and Technological Development (SI R&D) – PI 1.2
Projects in Co-operation – International Partnerships

Objectives and priorities

To promote the internationalization of Portuguese universities, research centers and companies, taking advantage of the experience and organizational culture of universities from the United States, specifically the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with which international partnerships are established.

Project Type

Collaborative R&D projects co-promoted by national companies and carried out in partnership between companies and non-corporate entities of the R&D System (ENESII). Projects should involve industrial research and experimental development activities, leading to the creation of new products, services, processes and systems. This may also involve the introduction of significant improvements in existing products, services, processes or systems.

Geographical Area

NUTS Regions of mainland – North, Center, Lisbon, Alentejo and Algarve

Research Areas

Project proposals should demonstrate their contribution to consolidating the intergovernmental initiative “Atlantic Interactions” as well as the objectives of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Projects should use a data science approach to address one or more of the following industry related topics:

• Climate Science and Climate Change – research will aim at studying, measuring and modeling the complex dynamics of interactive climate, meteorological, atmospheric, oceanic, terrestrial and near-Earth systems. Implementation of integrated models and methods of study and analysis of large data volume;
• Earth Systems – From the Oceans to Space – research should focus on the Earth’s subsystems, including oceans, land masses, atmosphere and near-space, with particular emphasis on measurements, technology and skills development, to address the critical subsystems of the Earth (from oceans to near-space), through technological innovation, the use of big data, the use of autonomous systems and the exhaustive analysis of these systems;
• Digital Transformation in Manufacturing – research should include the multiple aspects of digital transformation that enable new integrated approaches for design, manufacturing and sustainable adaptive solutions. The aim is to support the development of cyber-physical products and systems, ensuring a better user experience and value creation for the economy and society in general;
• Sustainable Cities – research will involve science, design and urban engineering with applications in areas such as energy use and improvement of building design, air quality, transport systems, internet-of-things (IoT) and total connectivity, as well as smart cities. The projects should take advantage of and promote the Atlantic Cities Network – Rio de Janeiro, Luanda, Lagos, Lisbon, Porto and Boston.

Consortium

Project proposals must guarantee the following minimum composition for the consortium:

• a leading company based in Portugal (mainland);
• participation of at least two (2) national non-corporate entities form the R&I;
• one (1) principal investigator (PI) from MIT.

Funding Support

The funding allocation for this program is 8 M€, with project specific budgets between 1.5 and 2 M€. Note, this budget is only for Portuguese Mainland entities.
There will be a specific call in the near future for entities from the autonomous regions to apply for funding.

Support Documents

• Announcement 04/SI/2019
• Merit Analysis Guidelines
• Technical Annex | AAC04
• Application Form Support Guide
• Reference of the consortium agreement of AAC 04 / SI / 2019
• Form [for visualization only]
• Clarification Note

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Applications

All project proposals were submitted through Balcão Portugal 2020. -> APPLICATION WEBSITE

The call was open for project proposals submissions. Due date: May 31, 2019

For any inquiries, please contact us at info@mitportugal.org

FAQ

How can I establish a contact with an MIT team to have them join the proposal?
The MIT Portugal coordination team will assist as much as possible with this process. Please contact info@mitportugal.org with details about the project idea. MIT PIs looking for contacts of Portuguese researchers and companies should contact the coordination office at MIT for assistance.

Can entities from Autonomous Regions participate?
Yes, they can, but please read the clarification note for details.

Can University of Azores join the proposal? Are they funded?
All entities from autonomous regions can join the proposals but as partners. Please note that the entities from Azores (e.g., University of Azores) will have the opportunity to apply for funding through a specific call. Please read the clarification note for further details

How is the MIT team funded?
Approved MIT project teams will be funded directly through the MIT Portugal Coordination office at MIT. Please note that each MIT team joining the proposals will need to submit a specific financing guarantee letter- template to be provided- signed by the coordinator of the program at MIT.

Are Portuguese national non-corporate entities from the R&I fully funded?
Yes, academic research teams from Portugal will be funded at 100%. FCT, IP assures its national counterpart in the case of non-corporate Entities of the R&I system.

Who submits the proposal?
The leading company is the entity responsible for submitting the project proposal.

How are MIT PIs involved in the proposal submission process?
The proposal is comprised of 2 parts: an online form and a technical annex. The online form is mainly for the Portuguese national entities listed as promoters and co-promotors. MIT teams should be listed on the technical annex as a partner entity, and within this document, the consortium should list the MIT team members, their responsibilities and tasks.

In which language should the proposal be written?
Applications (form and technical annex) must be filled in English.

Latest news

• 2019-02-01 – news release
• 2019-03-13 – call opening
• 2020-04-23 – official announcement

List of Projects Approved Under this Call

Four projects were approved for funding, with a total budget of 12.2 million Euros for three years.

In April 2020 the program awarded 4 R&D projects in the areas of Digital Transformation in Manufacturing and Sustainable Cities. These projects represent societal challenges that will be answered through research excellence and will promote the internationalization and strengthening the Portuguese scientific and technological structure.

Each project is led by a Portuguese company in partnership with research institutions and Portuguese universities as well as research groups at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).