Entry Date:
October 9, 2007

MIT-Portugal Program (MPP): Bioengineering Systems


The Bioengineering program seeks to provide the highest quality graduate education, which is offered jointly by four Portuguese universities with collaboration from MIT, to prepare students to:

(*) Master fundamental concepts of physical, chemical and biological engineering, computational systems, and medical technologies;
(*) Understand the innovation path to translate academic research to practice;
(*) Creatively solve complex problems and demonstrate innovative systems thinking;
(*) Provide leadership in academia, industry, and government.

Cutting-edge research plays an important role in providing world-class graduate education. The research program is closely linked to the educational program. The Bioengineering Systems research programs involve both MIT and Portuguese faculty. In addition, several companies are expected to provide internships and research opportuntities at the PhD level.

The Bioengineering System Focus Area is currently developing a program of industrial partners and affiliates within Portugal. The intention is that these partners will eventually have the opportunity to employ graduates of the new educational programs and to acquire new technologies developed through the program’s collaborative research projects.

The following research thrust areas have been identified for collaborative Portuguese and MIT faculty and doctoral student research projects:

(*) Bioprocess and Biomolecular Engineering
(*) Cell and Tissue Engineering
(*) Computational Bioengineering, Genomics, Systems and Synthetic Biology
(*) Biomedical Devices and Technologies: Hybrid Human - Machine Systems
(*) Biosystems Innovation, Management and Policy