Norwegian Centre of Expertise Subsea (NCE Subsea) and the University of Bergen (UiB) have signed an agreement that makes the university a new partner in the subsea cluster network.
Through the partnership, NCE Subsea and UiB want to improve communication between researchers and industry, establish and conduct projects that build the university’s expertise and also strengthen the subsea industry’s foundation and ability to innovate.
Another aim is that companies in the NCE Subsea cluster should find it easier to get access to relevant researchers at the university, and through them also access leading researchers worldwide.
NCE Subsea is also working on admission to the planned cluster program Global Centers of Expertise (GCE). This will be a program for the 4-5 strongest and most important clusters in Norway, who are also global in their industry segment.
Trond Olsen, the CEO of NCE Subsea, said the move was crucial for NCE Subsea's GCE-application.
"The university has made important research contributions that have become products in the subsea industry," he says.
"One of the prominent areas in that respect is acoustics. This is a discipline that cuts across industries and research areas such as medicine, environment and energy. A number of businesses in the Bergen region have gained their expertise in acoustics at the University of Bergen, and have developed advanced sensors for use in the subsea industry.
One of the projects NCE Subsea and UiB cooperate on is the application for a Centre for Research-based Innovation in "Integrated Well and Subsea Instrumentation".
"We have received very good feedback from the Research Council of Norway on the work done on the application so far," says Olsen. "This project includes several other partners from R&D and industry."
The move comes as NCE Subsea takes on a new CEO.
Owe Hagesæther will replace Trond Olsen as CEO of NCE Subsea in March 2014.
Hagesæther has more than 25 years of varied experience from management positions, international sales, business development and board positions.
He has experience from industries such as oil & gas, banking & finance, IT & telecom, energy, governmental, consulting and maritime technology and was most recently CEO of Sea Hawk Navigation AS.
He was a founding partner of Nordic Integrator Group. He holds an MSc degree in Computer Science from the University of Bergen and an MBA in Strategic Management from Norwegian School of Economics.
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