The Portuguese government, through the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education entered into a long-term collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This collaboration will focus on basic research and education in order to venture Portugal’s knowledge base strategy into an international level.  The key point of such collaboration will be to strengthen the government’s investment in people, knowledge and ideas. The “Portugal Program at MIT” envisages the collaboration of around 38 professors, 15 post-docs and 46 graduate students annually. MIT will also receive up to 33 graduate students and 15 researchers/professors from Portuguese institutions visiting MIT each year. The total public budget for the first 5 years of the MIT-Portugal partnership amounts to around 65 million Euro, from which about half go to activities at MIT, and the rest to Portuguese institutions. In addition, private funding will be used to support activities in industrial affiliates and to support advanced professional education programmes. MIT-Portugal