Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Aviation and Aerospace University (BSMRAAU) of Bangladesh and School of Aerospace Engineering of La Sapienza University of Rome (SIA) for academic cooperation in the field of aerospace on 29 May.
The BSMRAAU has established their grounds as the first aviation and aerospace university in Bangladesh whilst SIA is almost a century old academic institution and has grounded teachings in the aerospace engineering field over the last three decades, reads a press release.
Thales Alenia Space, as the leader in design and manufacturing of satellite-based systems in Europe with over 50 years of experience and an extensive heritage in building local capacities through technology and competence transfers plans, has partnered with SIA on various initiatives including an academic cooperation programme that aims to develop local competence in the field of Earth Observation.
Furthermore, Thales Alenia Space is the provider of the Bangabandhu Satellite-1 which is the first Bangladeshi geostationary communications and broadcasting satellite.
The MoU will aim to identify areas of collaboration on learning, teaching and research and development of space science and technology through collaborative initiatives. It is set to provide quality education in aviation and aerospace studies and to accelerate the expansion of Bangladesh’s entry in this field.
In addition, Air Vice Marshal ASM Fakhrul Islam, vice chancellor of BSMRAAU, exchanged the MoU with Sajid Abdur Rahman, business development manager of Thales in Bangladesh, and Roberto Sigismondi, export sales manager for Bangladesh in Thales Alenia Space.
“The roadmap is clearly defined and shared, it will encompass a local capacity building path, supported by an academic partnership, to enable and sustain a progressive deployment of space infrastructures to meet the Bangladesh strategic views and priorities for earth observation.”
