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The sixth edition of the National Congress on R&D in Defence and Security, DESEi+d 2018, was held from 20 to 22 November at the Cavalry Academy in Valladolid.
The Congress, which was organised by the Ministry of Defence’s Sub-Directorate General for Planning, Technology and Innovation (SDGPLATIN), in concert with the General Directorate for Military Recruitment and Training and the University Centres of Defence and Engineering Systems for the Defence of Spain (ISDEFE), provided a forum in which to exchange experiences and disseminate the results of the latest advances in research, development and innovation in various branches of knowledge involving defence and security.
Over the course of three days, the reports received were presented in various rooms and in parallel, based on the subject areas. In addition, a board meeting was held every day that gathered together high-level speakers from international, national and regional bodies involved in R&D.
During the closing statement, a moment was taken to remember Captain Javier Montojo Salazar, stationed at the General Directorate for Armament and Materiel, a regular at this congress and a great scientist and innovator, who passed away in March of this year after an accident on board the research vessel Hesperides.
Finally, the Secretary of State for Defence and the CEO of Isdefe presented the third edition of the Isdefe R&D Award, which was given to Mr Mateo Burgos García, from the Signals, Systems and Radiocommunications Department of the School of Telecommunications Engineering at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid for his paper on “Study of Coastal Surveillance Capabilities Through the use of Collaborative Autonomous Platforms”.
The closing ceremony then followed, presided over by the Secretary of State for Defence (SEDEF), Mr Ángel Olivares, who, during his speech, underscored the success of the Congress and the quality of the more than 200 papers presented, which comprise an important asset. He also noted how investing in R&D is always profitable by diminishing risks and by allowing Spanish companies to join European consortiums on cutting-edge projects.
Joining the SEDEF then in the closing ceremony were the Advisor for Development and the Environment of the Board of Castilla y León, Mr Juan Carlos Suarez-Quiñones, the head of the Training and Doctrine Command, Lieutenant General José Carrasco Gabaldón, the Deputy Director General for Coordination and Institutional Relations of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, Mr Felipe Formariz Pombo, and Isdefe’s CEO, Mr Francisco Quereda Rubio, who noted the importance of the Congress and its mission to determine and anticipate the effects that emerging new technologies might have on the Administration, and Isdefe’s ability to support it in its incorporation into the public setting.