Alcatel-Lucent and the Foundation for Science and Technology today signed a protocol that formalizes Alcatel-Lucent’s availability to join the State Invited Chairs Program, launched on May 12th.
The form and content of the chair will still be defined, as well as the educational institution that will welcome this new opportunity to carry out R&D projects, a process that will be supported in a public tender.
According to the protocol signed between the government and Alcatel-Lucent, the company finances the chair at 75 percent, an investment that António Beato Teixeira, chairman of the board of directors of Alcatel-Lucent Portugal, estimated at TeK of half a million euros .
At the ceremony, a second protocol was signed involving the company’s investment laboratories, the Bell Labs. The agreement sets rules for cooperation between Portuguese educational institutions and the historic laboratory and opens the door to an internship program that will now target students from the University of Coimbra, University of Porto and Instituto Superior Técnico, the three Portuguese entities that already maintained relations with laboratories. Other institutions will also benefit from the possibility of sending their doctoral students to the United States, following the same type of procedure by tender. These internship programs must have an annual frequency after which they are renewed.
On the sidelines of the meeting António Teixeira admitted that Alcatel-Lucent has so far had a minor relationship with Portuguese universities, without major structured links, a situation that changes with the funding of the chair, which has yet to start.
Also Mariano Gago, minister of science, technology and higher education praised the initiative and hoped that the two-day visit of the Bell Labs vice president to Portugal, carried out under the initiative, would bear fruit and allow the relationship between Portugal to be extended. and the structure to other fields.
Debasis Mitra, vice president of Bell Labs represented the structure in the presentation of the partnership and spoke about the many partnerships of Bell Labs, namely in Europe, making wishes for the success of the Portuguese agreement.
Related News:
2008-06-19 – Alcatel-Lucent and Government bring Bell Labs closer to Portugal
