RMIT to contribute to the Barcelona Metropolitan Strategic Plan

RMIT to contribute to the Barcelona Metropolitan Strategic Plan

A new agreement with the City of Barcelona will see RMIT join the general council of the Barcelona Metropolitan Strategic Plan, further cementing the University's commitment and connection to the Catalan capital.

At the recent signing ceremony in Barcelona, RMIT and the Barcelona Metropolitan Strategic Plan (Pla Estratègic Metropolità de Barcelona or PEMB) committed to shared knowledge exchange, placements for RMIT students within the Metropolitan Learning Lab and joint participation in European funded projects.

The signing hosted at Barcelona Activa was led by Raquel Gil Eiroá, president of Barcelona Activa, and Pau Solanilla, Commissioner for International Relations and Promotion of the City, on behalf of the Barcelona City Council – PEMB’s founding institution and main promoter.

PEMB is a private, not-for-profit association initiated by Barcelona City Council and the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona.

It identifies the needs and potential of the Barcelona area in the medium term, foreseeing trends and threats to be able to tackle future challenges.

“Though geographically distant, Barcelona and Melbourne – two metropolitan areas with a population of five million – are very close in terms of the challenges they face and their aspirations to be urban innovation leaders,” said Oriol Estela Barnet, General Coordinator of PEMB.

“Thanks to the University’s presence in Barcelona, this agreement with RMIT offers a gateway to the knowledge and different viewpoints within the Southeast Asia and Oceania regions which can benefit the Metropolitan Commitment 2030 and its deployment.” 

13 October 2023

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PEMB group photo The RMIT and PEMB signing event in Barcelona.

RMIT Vice-Chancellor and President Alec Cameron, Deputy Vice-Chancellor International and Engagement and Vice-President Saskia Loer Hansen, and RMIT Europe’s Executive Director Marta Fernandez attended the signing ceremony, describing the agreement with PEMB as a proud moment and demonstration of RMIT’s commitment to Barcelona.

“For ten years, RMIT’s innovation hub in Barcelona has served as an entry point for researchers, industry partners and European governments to connect with innovation and talent in Australia and Asia,” said Cameron.

RMIT’s decision to open the hub in Catalonia was inspired by research carried out by the University’s Spatial Information Architecture Laboratory in the design of the iconic Sagrada Familia.

A decade on, RMIT Europe is embedded in Barcelona’s 22@ innovation district, strongly focused on sustainable urban development, design, and digital transformation.

RMIT and PEMB have already collaborated on various initiatives.

RMIT students recently completed an online project benchmarking the data infrastructure of three metropolitan authorities (Boston, Helsinki, Manchester) to identify strengths and weaknesses as well as make recommendations on data architecture needs in the Barcelona metropolitan area.

RMIT and PEMB have also collaborated in two European funding proposals on housing and sustainability.

In 2023 RMIT Europe is celebrating the significant milestone of its 10-year anniversary of operations in Barcelona. To learn about RMIT's history in Europe and keep up with the latest news and events, visit the #RMITEurope10 webpage and follow RMIT Europe on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. 

 

Story adapted from El PEMB firma un convenio de colaboración con la universidad australiana The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)

13 October 2023

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