10-12-2025
Professor João Magalhães, Professor at the Department of Computer Science of NOVA School of Science and Technology and researcher at NOVA LINCS, has been appointed National Co-Director of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program (CMU Portugal) — one of the three international partnerships between Portugal and the United States supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT).
The appointment was announced by FCT as part of the fourth phase (2025–2030) of the international partnerships, which also include the MIT Portugal and UT Austin Portugal programs. This new phase reinforces scientific and technological cooperation between Portugal and the U.S., with the goal of promoting excellence in research, innovation, and advanced training in strategic areas for the country.
As National Co-Director, João Magalhães will work closely with Inês Lynce (Instituto Superior Técnico – University of Lisbon and INESC-ID), National Co-Director, and José Fonseca de Moura, Program Director at Carnegie Mellon University.
“It is an honor to contribute to the CMU Portugal Program and continue the outstanding legacy built by previous Directors. The CMU Portugal Program stands today as a flagship initiative and a model of excellence in education, science, and innovation. It is a privilege to join Inês Lynce and José Fonseca de Moura in this remarkable project and to bring new ideas for its evolution,” says João Magalhães.
A Full Professor at NOVA FCT and PhD in Computer Science from Imperial College London (2008), João Magalhães leads the Multimodal Systems Group at NOVA LINCS. His research focuses on artificial intelligence applied to vision and language, including vision–language models, multimedia search, multimodal conversational systems, and trustworthy large language models.
The fourth phase of the CMU Portugal Program (2025–2030) aims to strengthen collaboration between academic institutions and promote new thematic knowledge networks in fields such as data science, artificial intelligence, software engineering, and cyber-physical systems, contributing to Portugal’s sustainable economic and social development.
