To take advantage of the opportunities that globalization offers, a society must look to technology, which is at the root of today’s information economy.

Portugal embraced this concept and embarked on a bold initiative to make computers a core part of every Portuguese child’s education. In the process, they have created a PC manufacturing industry and invigorated the economy as a whole. The benefits are not some far-off speculation; an estimated 1,500 jobs and €2.3 billion in total economic activity are expected to be added through 2010.1

The program’s astonishing success since its inception in 2008 demonstrates the viability of this approach for other countries, even as it pays growing dividends at home.

The Challenge: Getting Technology into the Lives of People

Developing a technologically competent populace requires putting computers and infrastructure into

people’s hands, as well as giving them the means to take advantage of those resources. Education

systems are a common place to consider enacting changes like these. Unfortunately, that approach alone

tends to characterize the challenge as one of how to locate even more money for schools, which every

society struggles to fund optimally.

There’s more to the story, however, as demonstrated by the success of Portugal’s Magellan PC* initiative.

The larger answer lies in a holistic approach that considers far more than how to fund an ambitious

education initiative. By characterizing the goal as the development of an entire information economy,

a more complete picture begins to emerge that includes components on both the supply side and the

consumer side of the economy. It also incorporates near-term results in the form of business growth

as well as longer-term ones in the form of raising a generation of information workers that will create a

forward-looking economy as they grow up.

The Magellan PC* for Education:Technology that Transforms Portugal’s Present and Future

Impact Study

The Intel-powered classmate PC reference design is the basis of the

low-cost portable computer known as the Magellan PC, designed and

built in Portugal. As an educational solution rather than a specific

product, the classmate PC is intended for local manufacturers to

create their own products that achieve core principles of value:

• Rugged, robust, and affordable: customizable to specific customer needs

• Built-in parental controls

• Holistic solution with pre-packaged, locally driven education-oriented software and content

As the core of a comprehensive program of hardware, software,

connectivity, and content combined with teacher, parent, and student

training, the Magellan PC has succeeded beautifully. Other countries

around the world look ahead to following their example and achieving

similar benefits for their people. Intel provides additional technological

and logistical guidance to public and private partnerships. This

document explores the successes that have already been achieved by

Portugal’s Magellan PC program. It also captures some best practices

for other countries that may want to follow in Portugal’s footsteps.

Impact on Education: Empowering a New Generation with TechnologyThe Magellan project has transformed the Portuguese education

system, with extraordinary benefits to the children, their teachers, and

the system as a whole. Previously, broad swaths of the Portuguese

public had little or no access to computers, whereas now children are

leading the way toward a more modern era. The majority of children

have received Magellan PCs for their use at both school and home, and

the program has the near-term goal of increasing that deployment

to 100 percent. Every school in the country also now has broadband

access, up from 18 percent in 2005.

The Portuguese national government, through the Ministries of

Education and Telecommunications, is administering the program.

Their successful approach has been to identify teachers at the

local level and train them as master teachers who then help enable

their peers. To date, 850 such master teachers have been identified

and trained, in turn helping to train 30,000 teachers nationwide so

far (about one third of the total). All those teachers have received

both theoretical and practical guidance about how to incorporate

technology into the curriculum.

Parents are also an integral part of the Magellan program. Parents

throughout the country have taken part in a comprehensive

orientation program, in addition to receiving a Get Started Guide that

provides tips about how best to use the Magellan PC as part of their

children’s educational experience. Members of parent associations

have also participated in teacher training sessions, helping them

to feel like full partners in the transformation taking place in their

neighborhood schools.

“I believe that in the short term, the Magellan will contribute to innovation in pedagogical practice, and in the medium-to-long term, it will change the paradigm of education in Portugal, preparing future generations for a knowledge-based society.”

- Ana Matias, a primary teacher from a school near Lisbon

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Business Impacts: Invigorating the Portuguese Technology IndustryPortugal’s technology sector has developed into a major economic

force within the country. JP Sá Couto, the hardware company tasked

with manufacturing the Magellan PC, expects to grow by a factor

of 5x over the course of 2009, adding some 400 employees. The

company is also bringing a new manufacturing facility online, working

toward the goal of manufacturing five million units by the end of 2010.

Notably, four million of those Magellan PCs are intended for export,

which demonstrates a fundamental change in JP Sá Couto’s business

model, as well as Portugal’s role in the global technology industry. The

resultant improvements in the balance of trade and ability to attract

foreign investment are expected to pay benefits for many years to come.

Although the company originally had been a networking and original

equipment manufacturer, it is now in the process of transforming

into an original design manufacturer focused on education. As a

result, the company has moved significantly up the economic value

chain. Adding hardware design, configuration, and motherboard

manufacturing to the scope of its operations makes JP Sá Couto more

vertically integrated. That positions the company potentially to be far

more profitable, to employ more people, and to have a greater positive

impact on the Portuguese economy as a whole.

“Having contributed consistently as a high-growth sector in its own right, Information and Communication Technologies can now power economic recovery across all sectors.”

- Hamadoun Touré, ITU Secretary-General

2009Original Equipment Manufacturer

2010Original Design Manufacturer

Abroad • Processor manufacture

• Hardware design

• Component design

• Motherboard manufacture

• Confi guration

Abroad • Processor manufacture

Increased Value Added

• Manufacturing Jobs

• Design Jobs

• Intellectual Capital

JP Sá Couto’s evolution toward greater vertical integrationImage Source: Vital Wave Consulting, June 2009. “Measuring the Economic Impact of Magellan: A First Look.”

In Portugal • Hard drive assembly

• Final assembly

In Portugal• Hardware design

• Motherboard manufacture

• Confi guration

• Hard drive assembly

• Final assembly

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Economic Impacts: Planting Seeds that Grow Broad RootsIn addition to the direct benefits to local economies, the

improvements in Portugal’s skilled workforce, increased tax revenues,

and ripple effect to the rest of the economy are a substantial area of

success from the Magellan project. Studies indicate that the addition

of each new manufacturing job to an economy may indirectly lead to

the creation of an additional 3.2 jobs.1

Because most of the software and educational content associated

with the Magellan project originates in Portugal, the broader domestic

technology industry benefits. Substantial job and revenue growth

is taking place across the Portuguese technology sector, creating

what has been referred to as a “Portuguese Silicon Valley” in the

northern part of the country. Key points of growth are being enjoyed

by software producers, service providers, and telecommunications

providers, for a total projected growth from the Magellan project

of some 1,500 jobs and €2.3 billion in total economic activity

through 2010.1

This growth also includes modernization of the country’s overall

communications infrastructure, along with a general increase in the

level of regional IT expertise throughout Portugal. That development

sets the foundation for a long-term national ability to more fully

participate in the global information economy. The Portuguese

computer ecosystem as a whole has grown dramatically over a broad

spectrum of companies that includes software producers, service

providers, and telecommunication providers, in addition to the PC

manufacturing sector itself.

Software Producers Service Providers Telecommunications Providers

• Caixa Magica (Linux*)

• Porto Editoria (educational software)

• Microsoft (Windows* software)

• CEIIA (design innovation)

• Prológica (distribution and integration)

• Other training and service organizations

• Optimus

• Portugal Telecom

• Vodafone

• Zon Multimedia

“On a social level, we are talking about including people. We are talking about creating more jobs.”

- Jorge Sá Couto, JP Sá Couto, Magellan PC manufacturer

Portuguese job and revenue growth attributed to the Magellan project benefits a broad range of business areas, including local producers of software and services, as well as telecommunications providers

Source: Vital Wave Consulting, June 2009. “Measuring the Economic Impact of Magellan: A First Look.”

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The development of well-paying jobs at the core of a solid technology

manufacturing industry stimulates the consumer economy. Increased

discretionary income produces demand across sectors, ranging

from consumer goods to service industries, such as transportation,

restaurants, and leisure activities. The broad base of economic

development fostered by the Magellan project is helping to spur

Portugal’s recovery from the current recession as well as improve

hope for the country’s long-term well-being.

The highly visible role of the Portuguese government in this project

reinforces its identity as an eager promoter of economic development,

helping to enhance future cooperation between the public and private

sectors. Moreover, the collaboration within the government itself has

strengthened its ability to undertake future development activities.

Three Key Lessons: The Basis for More SuccessProgress so far indicates clearly that the Magellan program in Portugal

has succeeded in delivering extraordinary education, business, and

economic advantages both to individuals and to the country as a

whole. Moreover, the impact of the Magellan project has been to

establish practices that other countries can follow to achieve similar

success of their own.

Lesson 1: Government Leadership is Vital

Government plays a key role in using technology to promote social and economic welfare, particularly in developing economies. Because projects like Magellan call for the actual transformation of the education system, new education standards, curriculum, and policy are needed.

• Central authority. Governments are uniquely able to enact such high-level changes to the education system, which may require certain mandates.

• Strategic guidance. Programs like Magellan draw part of their viability from policy decisions around a national competitiveness strategy.

• Social oversight. The benefits to society as a whole that this type of program provides are in keeping with government’s traditional role.

Lesson 2: Success Depends on Public and Private Partnerships

Collaboration between government and business entities is required to meet the goals of so sweeping an initiative as the Magellan project. Both the public and the private sector each contributes according to its unique capabilities.

• Public sector provides administrative apparatus. Central authority is important to enact matters of policy across school districts, as well as to streamline regulatory hurdles and sometimes to incent businesses as needed.

• Private sector provides innovative ability. Particularly because of profit motivation, businesses help drive development of the goods and services needed.

Lesson 3: Programs Require More Than Just Technology

A number of superficially similar programs throughout the world have stopped short of the kinds of success enjoyed by the Magellan program. In many cases, these would have benefited from the integrated approach used in Portugal, which goes far beyond the Magellan PC’s hardware, software, and content technology alone:

• Training and outreach. Preparing master trainers and local autonomy builds sustainability and invests local schools and individuals in the program’s success.

• Extended assistance. Ongoing relationships between program administrators, involved businesses, and local schools align goals for the continuing health of the program.

• Broad-based change. Empowering parents and teachers makes the technology a status quo reality for students, who embrace their example.

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Conclusion: Future DirectionsLooking ahead, the Portuguese economy is on track to meet its stated goal of being one of the five most important technology providers in the European Union. The Magellan PC continues to be adopted by every child in the country, and the technology sector as a whole is thriving. Radiating outward from a single initiative, the nation’s transformation to being a viable participant in the global information economy seems assured. As other countries around the world learn from Portugal’s example, its PC industry continues to flourish, its economy moves steadily forward to recovery, and its children look ahead to a brighter future.

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Achieve Your VisionContact your local Intel representative to discuss how you can implement a sustainable,

technology-based education program in your country. Visit us on the Web at : www.intel.com/worldahead

Investigate the Portugal Technology Plan at www.planotecnologico.pt

Learn more about the classmate PC education solution at www.classmatepc.com

1 Source: Vital Wave Consulting, June 2009. “Measuring the Economic Impact of Magellan: A First Look.”THIS DOCUMENT AND RELATED MATERIALS AND INFORMATION ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” WITH NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, OR ANY WARRANTY OTHERWISE ARISING OUT OF ANY PROPOSAL, SPECIFICATION, OR SAMPLE. INTEL ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY ERRORS CONTAINED IN THIS DOCUMENT AND HAS NO LIABILITIES OR OBLIGATIONS FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF THIS DOCUMENT. All products, product descriptions, plans, dates, and fi gures are preliminary based on current expectations and subject to change without notice. Availability may vary in different channels.*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.© 2009, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.0709/PR/MESH/PDF Please Recycle 322389-001