FEAST focus # 23 (09/2006, p.8)
In may 2005, the Australian ACoRN (ARC Communications Resarch network) and the European NEWCOM (Network of Excellence in Wireless COMmunications) signed a joint agreement. The intention of the agreement was to establish close collaboration between ACoRN and NEWCOM through the existing programs of activity in the two networks.
The joint ACoRN-NEWCOM collaboration agreement is a major achievement for ACoRN and will be a priority for establishing a strong Australian involvement in Europe in this sector. The declared strategic objective of NEWCOM is the development of mobile and wireless systems beyond 3G. Through ACoRN, Australia is now in a position to take part in these European activities, providing an exciting path forward for Australian telecommunications research. Prior to this partnership, the NEWCOM Director, Prof. Sergio Benedetto, was a member of the ACoRN Advisory Board and during the first meeting of the Board, Lars Rasmussen suggested establishing a close link between the two networks, and subsequently the agreement was put in place.
A standing committee of four people - two from ACoRN (A/Prof. Jamie Evans, Uni. Melbourne and Prof. Lars Rasmussen, UniSA) and two from NEWCOM (Prof. Sergio Benedetto, Politecnico di Torino and Prof. Roberto Verdone, Uni. Bologna) - coordinates the joint activities.
The partnership
Joint activities currently being pursued include:
- Activities Open for ACoRN and NEWCOM Members
- The agreement enables a set of activities open to both networks like Summer schools, and workshops.
- Unfortunately, the dates of the first two events in 2005 clashed. Once the coordinating committee was in place, such clashes were avoided. The intention is that all ACoRN and NEWCOM events will be open to both network members.
- Annual Joint Workshop
The main event for promoting and establishing collaboration is a joint annual workshop, alternately hosted by Australia and Europe. The intention is for the workshop to be a two-day event held in connection with a larger, general conference event. The inaugural workshop takes place in September 2006, where more than 150 researchers from the two networks meet in Vienna, Austria for a 3 day joint event..
This event is expected to be a forum for establishing collaborative research, opening up for Australian involvement in the NEWCOM work towards future standards for mobile wireless communications. - Researchers and Students Exchanges
An important part of the collaboration is a joint exchange of researchers and students. The first ACoRN-NEWCOM exchanges took place in 2005 with three NEWCOM members visiting ACoRN institutions and three ACoRN members visiting NEWCOM institutions. So far in 2006, 3 NEWCOM members and 6 ACoRN members have been exchanged, resulting in ongoing collaboration.
ACORN
The ARC Communications Research Network (ACoRN) aims to stimulate creativity, innovation and breakthrough science, leading to technological advancement in telecommunications. ACoRN was awarded $AU1.5M over five years by the ARC under the ARC Research Networks Program, and together with pledged funding from ACoRN member organisations, the annual budgets are now in excess of $AU500K.
ACoRN brings together a network of more than 120 researchers in the field of information and communication, especially for emerging wired and wireless communications. ACoRN does not directly fund research projects, but instead supports nation-wide collaborative research through four programs of activities: the Researcher Mobility Program, The National and International Workshops and Conferences Program, the Postgraduate Education Program, and the Knowledge Management Program.
NEWCOM
NEWCOM aims at creating a European network that links in a cooperative way a large number of leading research groups addressing the strategic objective “Mobile and wireless systems beyond 3G”. This objective is a strategic research priority within the EU.
NEWCOM includes participants from almost all countries of the European Union (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, and United Kingdom). Additional four countries associated with the FP6 (Israel, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey) also participate with NEWCOM. At the Italian Istituto Superiore Mario Boella Professor Sergio Benedetto is the Coordinator of the network.
In terms of members, NEWCOM is significantly larger than ACoRN, including 61 academic and industry partner organisations, totalling hundreds of researchers and students.
