The US and Indra create the Space Surveillance Chair to promote R&D&I activities and specialized talent

The University of Seville and Indra have signed a collaboration and sponsorship agreement for the creation of the 'Space Surveillance' Chair, the objective of which is the joint development of R&D&I activities, the promotion of related teaching and interdisciplinary research activities. to the space sector.

Thanks to the agreement, signed by Miguel Ángel Castro , rector of the University of Seville, and Miguel Ángel Morell , Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Indra, academic work, final year projects and doctoral theses linked to the development of new space technologies will be promoted. and that use Artificial Intelligence (AI) or big data, among others, as well as collaboration opportunities with the Spanish Space Agency (AEE) .

Furthermore, the collaboration between both entities will allow the joint implementation of R&D&I activities and postgraduate and highly specialized courses for students and professionals; the development of promotional, informative, study, training and research activities; as well as the organization of meeting forums between academic, business and student staff. Both the birth of the chair and its development are closely linked to the Higher Technical School of Engineering of Seville (ETSI) Degree in Aerospace Engineering and the Master in Aeronautical Engineering are taught , which are part of the European aerospace network of excellence. PEGASUS and in which around 150 students graduate each year.

50 million in microcredentials

During the event, the rector highlighted the diversity of possibilities  posed by this agreement , among which he highlighted the development of microcredentials , for which the European Union has approved 50 million euros in 2024, "of which around a quarter will come of Andalusia, and in general the weight of the University of Seville represents a quarter of Andalusian universities, so we will have economic resources to tackle new projects. The rector has also made reference, due to his relationship with the newly created chair, to the investments that the Innovation Center for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Urban Air Mobility of Seville (CUAM) is receiving, which last year it received six million euros for its start-up and this year it will have nine million more.

“This agreement with the University of Seville is an example of Indra's commitment to Andalusian and Sevillian talent in a highly specialized and future-oriented sector in which Andalusian and Spanish industry and professionals have the opportunity to be protagonists,” he explained. Miguel Morell, CTO of Indra, is part of it.

The space sector is in full swing due to its enormous potential  and the disruptive advances that have been taking place in recent years, and according to various studies, it is expected to grow at annual rates close to 7% until 2026. The economy, security and Countries' defense increasingly depends on services provided from space, which makes satellites a  strategic asset .

Indra

Indra has played a key role in the development of the main European space infrastructures, among which the Copernicus Earth observation system and the Galileo global geopositioning system stand out. It has also deployed the ground segment of the Spanish Paz Earth observation satellite and has launched Startical , a company created by Indra in collaboration with ENAIRE, which will deploy a constellation of more than 200 satellites to improve air traffic management throughout the world. world from space.

In Andalusia, Indra has a presence in all provinces, with seven main centers, an innovation laboratory and two project offices, with around 2,500 professionals. In Seville it has 1,700 professionals and three work centers.