Companies and universities analyse several bilateral projects at the event hosted by SACF
During the second round table of the event organised by the Foundation on relations between industry and research in Australia, representatives of companies and universities from the two countries involved in bilateral research projects offered an overview of their work in the field.
Laura Tordera, Head of R&D at Ferrovial, explained that, as reflected by the acquisition of Australian company Broadspectrum, “Ferrovial is committed to the highly-important Australian market,” adding that “We believe the country will be crucial in the future.” Tordera and Marta Fernández, Executive Director for Europe at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), discussed the importance of the Wallaby project, through which the two companies are working jointly on the application of new monitoring technologies for the construction industry, a challenge that requires the coordination of several teams in the two countries.
Jorge Quiroga, Head of R&D at Navantia, explained the company’s approach to cooperation on R&D and outlined its ties with civil, military and academic institutions. “The value we add through our work with universities is the fact that we reflect the industry’s needs,” he said. He also emphasised the need to pay special attention to aspects such as intellectual property, industry secrets and outcome publication when setting up cooperation agreements between different institutions.
The round table concluded with a speech by researcher Elias Aboutanios, Director of the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research, which falls under the University of New South Wales. He spoke about his experience heading up a multinational research project with the participation of several Australian and European institutions. The researcher emphasised administrative aspects as one of the main challenges in this kind of projects, which involve coordinating different funding models.
