Trip to Portugal

I spent the past week in Portugal at the invitation of the MIT Portugal Program.  I gave a talk on Complex Engineering Systems in the Knowledge Economy, and had meetings with faculty members and government officials involved in the program.   I also spent some time with colleagues from IBM Portugal.

The MIT Portugal Program was started in 2006 as a collaboration between MIT and government, academia, and industry in Portugal.  The program aims to foster education, research and economic development in areas related to engineering systems.  It has targeted bio-engineering, sustainable energy, transportation, and engineering design and advanced manufacturing as its key focus areas.

The MIT side of the program is being coordinated by the Engineering Systems Division (ESD).  For ESD, the program is an invaluable learning experience as it explores, together with Portuguese universities, government and the private sector how to best leverage engineering systems for the benefit of society and business.   

For Portugal, the program represents a strategic commitment to science, technology and higher education.  Similar programs have been established by the Portuguese government with UT Austin - which has a focus on digital media, advanced computing and math; with CMU - whose focus is on IT, critical infrastructures, innovation and applied math; and with Harvard focusing on biomedical sciences.  These international programs are an investment in human capital, designed to make Portugal a relevant partner for future joint ventures in the emerging knowledge-based, global economy.

Portugal is a relatively small country, with a population of roughly 10.5 million people.  Its economy is fairly well developed, ranking 34th in the world in GDP per capita.     Like other similar small, well off countries, Portugal is working hard to carve its proper role in our increasingly competitive global economy.  It must figure out how to best compete against larger and more developed countries, as well as against countries with significantly lower labor costs. 

It is not an easy task, and there are no silver bullets or shortcuts.  The only answer, - recommended by just about every panel that has looked into the problem, - is to promote a climate of innovation in the country through a strategic commitment to develop talent, investments and infrastructure.  This will enable the country to find its proper role in the world's economy.  This is what Portugal is aiming for.

But why partner with MIT and other international universities?  In today's global environment, it is not enough to just be good within your own boundaries.  You must be part of the world's knowledge eco-system.  MIT, UT Austin, CMU and Harvard are among the leaders in that knowledge eco-system, which is why Portugal has chosen to partner with them. 

The MIT Portugal program has set some very important targets.  The program is now well on its way.  I truly hope that when we look back on the effort in the future, we will all feel very good that the program met everyone's high expectations.

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