- It will pay special attention to the field of applied radiofrequency.
- The rector and the executive president of Grupo Oesía signed this Thursday the collaboration agreement between both entities.
Vigo, September 12, 2024 – The University of Vigo expands this year its network of chairs with the signing of a new agreement with Grupo Oesía, a Spanish multinational company dedicated to digital and industrial engineering of dual use, which develops and implements innovation and transformation projects in 40 countries in four continents.
The Oesía chair responds to the interest of both entities to collaborate in teaching and research activities in the field of telecommunications and, especially, in the study of applied radiofrequency.
Within this field, the chair will seek to address key aspects such as antenna systems, the design and electromagnetic simulation of these systems, their calibration and measurement, as well as the application of transversal tools provided by artificial intelligence, with the possibility of expanding into areas such as electromagnetic simulation, QKD systems or 5/6G networks.
A pillar for the country’s future
This is not the first collaboration between both entities, which already signed in 2021 a cooperation agreement in the field of cybersecurity and digital transformation.
“This chair that we are signing today”, highlighted Luis Furnells, executive president of Grupo Oesía, “is one more step in our way to promote Spanish technological progress in general and Galician in particular through training, knowledge dissemination and the transfer and promotion of R&D&I in the field of cutting-edge disciplines”.
In this sense, the head of the group emphasized that being a company that is committed to disruptive technologies “we are aware of the importance of collaboration between companies and research centers, such as universities, for the development and progress of the economy and society. For this reason, we are very proud to contribute to the Galician talent that is trained in these classrooms and their contribution to the community”.
For his part, the rector of UVigo, Manuel Reigosa, expressed his conviction that “the University has to play an important role in the development of the country’s capabilities, not only through training, but also through R&D and public-private collaboration, and this is something in which UVigo has always believed and this chair is an example”.
Reigosa highlighted that this agreement opens the doors to collaborate in the field of Industrial Doctorate, in topics related to quantum communications, artificial intelligence, 5G and 6G or photonics, “improving the training of our students and also offering them powerful projects that prevent other countries from benefiting from their talent and skills, essential for the future of the country”.
The vice-rector of Research, Transfer and Innovation, Belén Rubio, as well as Carlos Founaud, director of Innovation of Grupo Oesía and María Graña, responsible for Innovation and Technology of Inster-Grupo Oesía, and the directors of the chair, the researchers Ana Vázquez Alejos, from the group of Radio Systems, and Óscar Rubiños, from Antennas, Radar and Optical Communications, both members of atlanTTic, the center of Research in Telecommunication Technologies of the University of Vigo, also took part in the signing ceremony.
The vice-rector agreed with the rector and the executive president of the group on the importance of this type of collaboration between universities and companies to implement attractive projects that allow to retain the talent of students and even get the return of those excellent professionals who decided to leave the University and the country.
The coordinators of the chair emphasized the importance that this will have for the School of Telecommunications Engineering and its students, as it will allow them to “link with companies in the sector” during their training stage, and this will help them to enhance their projects and initiatives, which are characterized by multidisciplinarity.
In this sense, the professors have stressed that this collaboration will be retroactive and, “although the chair will start with a focus on radio frequency, it will gradually grow towards fields such as QKD, quantum communications or 5/6G networks”.
Planned activities for the first year of the Chair
Under the umbrella of this new chair, training, dissemination, transfer and R&D&I promotion activities will be organized.
In terms of training, seminars will be held on technologies of common interest and the results of collaboration, an internship program for students, the inclusion of work topics in the Project Laboratory subject in the 4th year of Telecommunications Engineering, as well as complementary academic activities and the sponsorship of studies through scholarships or awards.
In terms of dissemination and transfer, conferences and meetings with other companies in the area will be organized to make the work and R&D potential visible.
Finally, with regard to the promotion of R&D&I, the agreement establishes as priorities the concurrence to the call for Industrial Doctorate, the support to the realization of final projects of degree and master, the organization of meetings of experts in topics of technological vanguard or R&D topics.
The agreement will be valid for four years, which may be extended at the end of this period.