The Summer Schools and summer internships offered by Técnico Lisboa and associated research institutions provide an international academic experience, combining specialised training, practical activities and exposure to research. The programmes cover areas such as machine learning, particle physics, plasma physics and nuclear fusion, offering opportunities to deepen your knowledge and work with researchers and students from different universities.

Studying in Portugal during the summer is also an opportunity to discover Portuguese culture and enjoy the warm weather, long days and proximity to the sea.

Explore the available programmes and their participation requirements.

Plasma Surf

The regular course covers the fundamentals of plasma physics, high-power lasers, and nuclear fusion, offering students the chance to explore a wide range of exciting and cutting-edge topics. Who knows, this might be where you discover the idea that shapes your Master’s or PhD thesis!

This summer school, held in July, focuses on plasma physics, intense lasers, and nuclear fusion. Designed for BSc and MSc students in engineering and physics, it offers a unique opportunity to gain insight into these fields whether as a step toward a future career or as a way to complement your academic training by expanding your knowledge in one of the most exciting and advanced areas of physics.

The lectures are organized into self-contained modules, running from Monday to Saturday, and include practical sessions on remote laboratories, data analysis, and computer science. Late afternoons are reserved for group and coaching activities, such as surf classes. Key topics covered include: Introduction to Plasma Physics, Fundamentals of Plasma Diagnostics, Magnetic and Inertial Nuclear Fusion, High-Power and Ultrashort Lasers, and major international experiments in Plasma Science.

Lisbon Machine Learning School

LxMLS takes place in July and is organized by the Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores – Investigação e Desenvolvimento (INESC-ID), a research unit affiliated with Técnico, in collaboration with the Lisbon ELLIS Unit for Learning and Intelligent Systems (hosted at Técnico), Unbabel (a Técnico spin-off), Zendesk, and IBM Research.

It offers students from around the world the opportunity to engage with machine learning through theoretical lectures and hands-on programming sessions. The programme includes discussions on a wide range of topics, from the fundamentals of machine learning to natural language processing.

For Justus Westerhoff, a student from Germany, LxMLS was his first experience in Portugal. He appreciated the opportunity to ‘review the fundamentals of machine learning’ and ‘enjoyed meeting people from Portugal and from around the world, the United States, Scandinavia, Estonia…’, he shared.

LIP Summer Internship

The LIP Internship Program is a summer initiative by LIP for students in Physics and Engineering. Internships take place between June and September at LIP’s three centres: Minho (Braga), Coimbra, and Lisbon, and range in duration from a minimum of two weeks to a maximum of two months. Each student may apply to up to five R&D projects.

The program offers hands-on experience in research projects across LIP’s various scientific groups. It includes a week of introductory lectures on particle physics, astroparticles, detectors, and experimental methods; practical tutorials on data analysis tools; a final workshop where participants present the results of their work; and the opportunity to write a final paper summarising their research.

The previous edition brought together over 60 students who participated in 30 different projects, spanning areas such as fundamental physics, data analysis, instrumentation, and advanced technologies.