Dassault Systèmes and the University of Adelaide have opened Dassault Systèmes’ South Australian regional centre on the university’s campus in Adelaide.
Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne said the new office will be the first office to be co-located with an Australian university, and was established under a collaboration agreement signed on May 17 by University Vice Chancellor Professor Peter Rathjen, and Dassault Systèmes’ Executive Vice President of Global Field Operations Asia/Oceania Sylvain Laurent.
“This agreement is part of a growing partnership between Dassault and the University,” Minister Pyne said in a statement. “It is aimed at increasing industry participation at the University, improving the student curriculum, giving them industry experience and helping to make them job-ready.”
Minister Pyne said the University of Adelaide has long and well-established links with Defence as its largest research partner, with 157 agreements negotiated since July 2014, valued at $13 million.
“It is home to the Defence Research and Innovation Network which I had the pleasure to launch in November last year,” Minister Pyne said. “It is also involved in projects under the Next Generation Technologies Fund, conducting ten early-stage research projects in areas relating to intelligence systems, trusted autonomy, autonomous tactical networks and unmanned vehicles.
In a separate statement, Professor Peter Rathjen said, “The colocation of Dassault Systèmes in the heart of where we conduct engineering teaching and research will provide a deeper link between the University of Adelaide and a global industry leader. Our growing partnership with Dassault Systèmes means that our engineering students will have further opportunities to develop industry-ready skills, enabling them to serve the defense sector in South Australia.”