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9th Australia-Spain Research Forum: A Connected World

Conference organised by the Spanish Researchers in Australia-Pacific.

The association Spanish Researchers in Australia-Pacific (SRAP)  organises annually the “Australia-Spain Research Forum”, a multidisciplinary conference aimed at the wider community, to highlight Australia-Spain research and present broad research and cultural topics which are of special interest to the Australian and Spanish societies.

SRAP promotes and supports networking between Australia-Pacific and Spanish research institutes and universities and provides assistance and networking support for Spanish researchers in Australia-Pacific. The Australia-Spain Research Forum is our main networking event, putting together Australian and Spanish researchers in multiple disciplines, as well as between universities, research centres, industries, diplomats and artists who have an interest in scientific research.

In 2023 we are organising the 9th Australia-Spain Research Forum entitled “A Connected World“, with the aim of showing the importance of multidisciplinary and international research, as well as how the triple connection between academic research, industry research, and science diplomacy can hace a profound impact in the society. 

The 2023 SRAP Research Forum will be hosted at the Australian Hearing Hub, Macquarie University (Sydney, NSW) on Friday 3rd of November 2023 with the option of attending virtually or in-person.

This edition of the SRAP Forum is sponsored by the Spanish Embassy in Australia, the Australia-Spain Council Foundation, the Ramón Areces Foundation,  Instituto Cervantes Sídney  and Indra Australia – to whom we are extremely grateful for their continuous support.

The 2020 Australia-Spain Research Forum “Big Data”, the 2021 Australia-Spain Research Forum “A Collaborative World”  and the 2022 Australia-Research Forum “A Digital World” were successful not only because of the expertise of the speakers and the very interesting talks but also because on-line participation was possible, with all the presentations available in the SRAP YouTube Channel.

This 2023 SRAP Australia-Spain Research Forum promises an exciting program about how research can help to connect the world. 

The program includes talks about astronomy and space exploration connecting Australia with Spain and Europe, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in education and their impact in society, a talk about the art at the CERN, and talks discussing the research collaborations between Spanish industries with a strong presence in Australia with Australian universities.
 
We have also organised two interesting panel discussions: a multidisciplinary panel discussion about ecosystems, immigration and climate change, and another panel discussion about the connection between academy, industry, and diplomacy. The program also includes talks about how science diplomacy helps researchers to promote big international projects, and why Australia joining the EU Horizon 2020 research program will have a strong impact in Australian research.
 
The 2023 SRAP Australia-Spain Research Forum will also have the announcement of the winner of the 2nd SRAP-frA Early Career Research Award, as well as other SRAP announcements.
 

Attending the 2023 Australia-Spain Research Forum “A Connected World” is free. Registration is already open in Eventbrite.

Program

The full program of the 9th Australia-Spain Research Forum “A Connected World“ is available in this link to a PDF file (including the Conference Poster). The Conference Booklet compiling all the information (program, abstracts, bios, acknowledgements) is available in this link to a PDF file (14 pages, 4.1 Mb)

The program of the 9th Australia-Spain Research Forum “A Connected World“ is:

10:00-10:30
REGISTRATION
+ WELCOME COFFEE

10:30 – 11:00
FORMAL OPENING
– Montserrat Momán Pampillo
(Deputy Head, Embassy of Spain in Australia)
– Prof Sakkie Pretorius
(MQ Vice-Chancellor)
– HE Sophia McIntyre
(Ambassador of Australia in Spain) 
(videoconference)
– Ms Inmaculada Riera
(General Director of the
Chamber of Commerce of Spain)
(videoconference)
11:00 – 11:15Opening address from SRAPDr. Ángel R. López-Sánchez
(SRAP & Macquarie University)
11:15 – 12:25
SESSION 1:
Multidisciplinary Research  		Chair:
Dr Mariel Familiar López
(Griffith Un. & SRAP)
11:15 – 11:35Advancing society through                          
Artificial Intelligence Education		Prof Matt Bower (MQ)
11:35 – 11:55Connecting Australia with Light:                          
a gateway to the World		Dr Noelia Martínez Rey
(ANU & SRAP)
11:55 – 12:15PANEL DISCUSSION: 

Immigration, environment,
and climate change

– Maite de Muller
(IOM, Regional Evaluator
Pacific Program Support Unit
& SRAP)
– Prof Ana Vila-Consejo
(USyd & SRAP)
– Dr Ricardo Domínguez Llosa
(Food and Agriculture Organisation
of the United Nations & SRAP)
– Damian Cardona
(Director, United Nations
Information Centre in Canberra )
– Prof Neil Saintilan
(MQ)
12:15 – 1:40
LUNCH & NETWORKING
1:40 – 2:55
SESSION 2:
Connecting Industry and Research

Chair:
Dr Sara Marrero Hernández
Univ. of Melbourne & SRAP)
1:40 – 1:55Research in TYPSA AustraliaCarmen Verdú
(CEO TYPSA Australia)
1:55 – 2:10Bus automatization in BrisbaneCarlos Vidal Jiménez
(Indra Australia)
2:10 – 2:25Research projects between
Navantia Australia
and University of Technology of Sydney		Israel Lozano
(CEO Navantia Australia)
2:25 – 2:40SRAP-frA Early Career
Research Award		Dr Marta Ribó
(Auckland University of
Technology & SRAP)
& Winner

2:40 – 3:25
COFFEE BREAK & NETWORKING

3:25 – 5:25
SESSION 3:
Connecting Diplomacy
and Research		Chair:
A/Prof Sergio León-Saval
(Univ. Sydney & SRAP)
 3:25 – 3:40The SKAO: Connecting the world
to create the largest astronomical observatory		Prof Lourdes Verdes-Montenegro
(CSIC / SKAO & Spain SKA Leader)
(videoconference)
3:40 – 3:55European Southern Observatory (ESO),
a valuable opportunity for scientific collaboration		Prof Orsola de Marco
(MQ / AAL)
3:55 – 4:10New Zealand’s association to Horizon Europe:
A Science Diplomacy Success Story.
How about Australia?		Nishant Shandilya
(EURAXESS Aus & NZ)
4:10 – 4:25RMIT University, more than just
an “associated partner”
in Horizon projects.		Craig Richmond
(RMIT Europe)
(videoconference)
4:25 – 5:00 PANEL DISCUSSION: 

Connecting Academia, Industry,
and Diplomacy

– Chair: HE Rebeca Guinea
(General Consul of Spain in Sydney)
– Prof Luis Salvador-Carulla
(Un. Canberra & SRAP)
 – Coral Martínez
(Director, Instituto Cervantes Sydney,
Cultural Consul of Spain in Sydney)
– Enrique Blanco
(CEO Ferrovial Australia)
– Sylvia Fernández
(President, La Cámara,
Chamber of Commerce
Australia-Spain)
5:00 – 5:15Closing talk:
An Earth connected
to the Universe		Prof Héctor Socas-Navarro
(Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias,
Universidad de La Laguna,
Director of “Museo de las
Ciencias y el Cosmos“, Tenerife)
(videoconference)
5:15 – 5:25Concluding remarksAssoc. Prof Sergio León-Saval
(University of Sydney & SRAP)
HE Rebeca Guinea
(General Consul of Spain in Sydney)
5:25 – 6:30

Conference Photos & Drinks

7:00 – 9:00 Conference Dinner(By invitation only)

Speakers

The 2023 SRAP Australia-Spain Research Forum promises an exciting program about how research can help to connect the world, and the importance of connecting academic research with industry research and science diplomacy.

The details of the speakers and panel discussion participants will be included here by September, when the Conference Booklet is released.

Registration

While the 2023 SRAP Australia-Spain Research Forum “A Connected World” is free, we require that all virtual and in-person attendees register through Eventbrite.

Registration is already open in Eventbrite.

Through this registration, attendees will receive a Zoom link from which they will be able to virtually attend the Forum.

Sponsors & LOC

The 9th Australia-Spain Research Forum “A Connected World: “ is organised by Spanish Researchers in Australia-Pacific (SRAP).

Sponsors

This edition of the SRAP Research Forum is sponsored by

to whom we are extremely grateful for their continuous support.

Local Organising Committee (LOC)

  • Inés Benavente
  • Inmaculada Conde
  • Mariel Familiar López
  • Eladio Hernando
  • María Jones Caballero
  • Sara Marrero Hernández
  • Eva Millares
  • Sergio León-Saval
  • Paula Llull
  • Ángel R. López-Sánchez (Chair)
  • Jorge Pinilla
  • Sergio Pinilla
  • Ana Rubio Zuazo
  • Luis Salvador-Carulla
  • Carmen Salvador Palomeque
  • Ignacio Spinetta Martínez
  • Marian Vidal-Fernández