UK universities establish five-year collaboration at National Subsea Centre

Robert Gordon University and the University of Strathclyde have signed a five-year Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to collaborate in research and technology development at the National Subsea Centre (NSC).

NSC is a centre of excellence for subsea research and technology development and is delivered through a partnership between the Robert Gordon University and the Net Zero Technology Centre, as part of the Aberdeen City Region Deal. 

An Industrial Doctorate Training Centre will be formed as part of the agreement, with a commitment to four studentships each year, which will support the NSC’s three strategic research programmes, including Transparent Ocean, Integrated Energy and Marine Operations.

The SeaSense project, part-funded by the Net Zero Technology Centre, will be the first project delivered under the MOA.

It will develop technology that allows remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to function in harsh, visually compromised environments, aligned with the central focus of the Transparent Ocean research programme at the NSC.

The project aims to advance the knowledge and capability in robotic manipulation where tactical sensing is essential for accurate and reliable perception.

“This new partnership will bring real societal benefit, not only in terms of the opportunity it represents for the training of early career researchers, but also in creating advances in subsea robotics, remote sensing technologies, and supporting the drive towards net zero,” said professor Steve Olivier, principal of Robert Gordon University.

“At RGU, we focus on research that has a positive impact on our world and enhance this contribution through strong collaborations with other leading organisations such as the University of Strathclyde—sharing our interdisciplinary thematic research expertise to address global sustainability and produce outputs of public value.”

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