During the meeting in Barcelona, RMIT Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Alec Cameron, emphasised the partnership with AstraZeneca and IDAEA-CSIC as an example of RMIT's dedication to industry-engaged research and sustainability-focused innovation while training the next generation of research leaders.
“Our presence in Europe makes collaborations like this possible and allows us to build enduring relationships to advance research and innovation for sustainable futures," he said.
“The most important challenges facing society cannot be solved in isolation and we’re proud to strengthen our relationship with AstraZeneca and CSIC today.”
Her Excellency Rosemary Morris-Castico, Australian Ambassador to Spain, reflected upon Spain and Australia's similar challenges and how they can be tackled despite geographic distances.
“By bringing together Australian and Spanish expertise, this project is generating knowledge that can help us better understand how nature-based solutions can support environmental restoration and water management,” she said.
“What makes this partnership particularly valuable is its focus on delivering practical outcomes and developing solutions that could benefit other regions facing similar challenges.”
Dr Marc Rius Viladomiu, Director and Research Scientist, Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), added that the research collaboration comes at a crucial time for water conservation.
"The current climate situation on our planet makes it important to seek solutions based on scientific knowledge at an international level," he said.
With the potential to improve water quality, biodiversity and habitat restoration, the new research partnership will play a key role in building more resilient water environments in Spain and Australia.
AuSpire is an ambitious, interdisciplinary research initiative offering postdoctoral fellowships grounded in the concept of Planetary Wellbeing, co-funded by the European Union and coordinated by RMIT Europe.
Co-funded by the European Union under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No 101177949 (AuSpire). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the Research Executive Agency can be held responsible for them.
