For five years, REDI has strengthened connections between research and industry through its partnerships.
REDI partners RMIT University and Eurecat recently celebrated five years of collaboration which started in 2021 and has contributed to REDI through doctoral training, industry engagement and collaborative research, creating new opportunities for innovation between Australia and Europe.
To mark this milestone, senior representatives from RMIT, Eurecat, government agencies and industry gathered in Barcelona, including RMIT Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Alec Cameron, Vice-President Engagement Michelle King, RMIT Europe CEO, Dr Marta Fernandez; Eurecat President, Daniel Altimiras and the technology centre’s CEO, Xavier López.
From the lab to the production line
Half a decade of collaboration has resulted in around 15 research and innovation projects in fields including metals, water management, chemistry, nutrition, quantum technologies and artificial intelligence.
A key milestone was the establishment of the Joint Research Unit (JRU) for Digital Metal Manufacturing in 2022, combining the expertise of the RMIT Centre for Additive Manufacturing with Eurecat’s Center of Excellence in Advanced Manufacturing, laying the groundwork for cross-sector collaboration with industry partners.
A project linked to REDI involving REDI fellow Dr Milad Bemani and supervisors Professor Andrey Molotnikov (RMIT), Professor Raj Das (RMIT), Daniel Casellas (Eurecat) and Antonio Mateo (UPC) has resulted in a jointly patented technology for monitoring and quality control of metal parts produced through additive manufacturing. The patent incorporates the ERAM method (electric resistance method for additive manufacturing) — a fast, simple and low-cost way to check the quality of 3D-printed metal parts during production or already in use.
Using this technology, the researchers plan to deliver an automated measurement device for future application in industrial settings.
Besides Milad, REDI fellows Ananthakrishna Sajithkumar and Harry Tracey are also undertaking their research in collaboration between RMIT and Eurecat.
Harry Tracey is a PhD candidate at the University of Girona and RMIT and a member of the Nutrition and Health Unit at Eurecat, Centre Tecnològic de Catalunya. In REDI, Harry is researching the microbiota-gut-brain-axis with the aim of promoting healthy aging.
Ananthakrishna Sajithkumar is a PhD candidate at the Technical University of Catalunya and RMIT, undertaking his research at the unit of Metallic and Ceramic Materials at Eurecat. Ananthakrishna is researching how modifications in an aluminium alloy’s composition and atomisation conditions can lead to more resilient materials suitable for additive manufacturing.
Turning collaboration into impact
As REDI comes to an end, the RMIT-Eurecat partnership highlights the importance of sustained international collaboration in advancing research, developing talent and supporting industry innovation.
