CLDP and the Division for Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer (CRIA) of the University of Algarve organized a Program on Developing Entrepreneurship and Supporting Innovation Ecosystems in Algeria and Morocco in Faro, Portugal from April 3-8, 2017. Program participants included 20 technology transfer and innovation stakeholders from universities, research centers, and other institutions from Algeria and Morocco, and led by experts from the Center for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and from Spain and throughout Portgual.

The course aimed to provide practical tools, resources, and connections for business-development models for universities and research centers as they build innovation ecosystems that support market commercialization of university-generated research. This technology transfer process, in turn, contributes to the creation of new companies, jobs, and international partnerships. 

The program is co-funded by CRIA and the U.S. Department of State's Middle East Partnership Initiative, which promotes entrepreneurship and innovation in the Middle East and North Africa.