Opening its doors in 2013 in the city famous for the Sagrada Familia, RMIT's innovation hub in Europe has reached the significant milestone of its 10-year anniversary.
The decision to open a hub in the Catalan capital stemmed from existing connections to the city, including the work of RMIT researchers from the University's Spatial Information Architecture Laboratory in the ongoing design and construction of Gaudi's monumental basilica.
The year it opened its European base, RMIT became the first Australian institution to receive funding from the European Union (EU) prestigious research and innovation funding program Horizon Europe, awarded over AU$6 million to support a new architecture, design and art practice training research network.
Executive Director of RMIT Europe, Professor Marta Fernandez, reflected on the immense growth over the past 10 years.
"From our modest core of five staff in 2013, we now employ an international team of around 40 at our base in the city's innovation district, including co-hosting PhD and postdoctoral candidates through EU funded schemes," she said.
"Due to our presence in Barcelona and our relationships across Europe, we've been able to facilitate scientific, cultural, industry and knowledge exchange on a global scale.
"We're proud to manage a portfolio of European funded projects of AU$48 million, delivered on hundreds of collaborations with universities, industry, cities and NGOs and to have supported 15,000+ RMIT students with transformational global experiences connected to Europe," Fernandez said.
