Harvard-Portugal program launched

The Harvard Medical School-Portugal program has “the following lines of action:

1. The systematic production of information concerning health for the general public, and the distribution of educational material to medical students and health professionals in particular, in the Portuguese language. (…)

2. The launching and streamlining of post-graduate medical training, including Junior and Senior Clinical Research and Career Development Awards for Portuguese MD trainees.

3. A research program directed at strengthening the national capacity to produce new translational and clinical knowledge with impact on specialized medical education and the practice of clinical medicine. (…)

The three lines of action will be launched on an entirely competitive basis at the national level, respectively for: i) the systematic review and production of educational material by specialist teams in Portuguese medical schools; ii) the selection of MD trainees for post-graduate programs; iii) the respective training offered at the national level; and iv) the identification and selection of research projects and networks.

Portuguese medical schools and major national research centers working in biomedical and health sciences are in charge of the overall coordination of the program in liaison with Harvard Medical School under the supervision of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC). External evaluation will be done by an independent review board to be nominated by the FCT.”

In “Harvard Medical School – Portugal Program in Translational Research and Information - Technical Annex of a Cooperation Agreement between Harvard Medical School and the Science and Technology Foundation, Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education” May 16, 2009.