The Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program is a platform for education, research and innovation that brings together Portuguese universities, research institutions and companies, in cooperation with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). The partnership was launched in 2006, and was renewed for another five years in 2012 until 2017. Its mission is to place Portugal at the forefront of innovation in key focused areas of Information and Communication Technologies, by promoting cutting-edge research, world-class graduate education and a close collaboration with the Portuguese industry. Its activities are funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, supported by the Conselho de Reitores das Universidades Portuguesas, and co-financed by business partners and by CMU. The program leverages a vibrant research community, a solid and close partnership between faculty at Portuguese universities and at CMU, a strong collaboration with industry, and a deep integration in international knowledge networks. The key instruments of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program are: talent development of faculty, students and professionals from the industry, through dual degree Ph.D. and Professional Masters programs, and a faculty exchange program; research and innovation in potentially commercializable technologies, through multidisciplinary projects carried out by integrated teams from universities and companies, with an orientation towards new products and services for international markets; the inRes Program; and industry collaboration through an Industry Affiliates program. These instruments are applied in focused areas of ICT where Portugal can gain competitive advantages, continuously under discussion in the scientific and industrial communities.