Importance of company perspective highlighted at SKA Science Day

SKA Science Day

On 10 and 11 September, eyes in the Swedish Big Science community were drawn to the Square Kilometre Array Observatory, SKAO, at the 2nd National SKA Science Day Sweden, held in Gothenburg.

The meeting aimed to bring together researchers and Swedish industry partners working in SKA-related science, technology, and algorithm development. Alongside presentations and discussions of recent scientific results, Big Science Sweden headed a business representation comprising Swedish companies working in the Big Science market. In a seminar session, Catarina Sahlberg, Programme Director, presented the work of Big Science Sweden.

Science and technologies

“There was a clear focus on science, but I was happy to see that the conference attracted so many companies working with technologies of interest for facilities such as SKAO,” says Paul Häyhänen, Business Developer and Project Manager at Big Science Sweden, as well as Swedish Industrial Liaison Officer, ILO, for SKAO.

He underlines the importance of networking between academia and industry in developing technology for building facilities such as SKAO.  

Knowledge transfer

“It’s essential to discuss key technologies in projects like this to see how the perspectives of the companies delivering technology can help push science forward. From a Big Science Sweden perspective, we hope future conferences will have more room for discussions and knowledge transfer between companies, facilities such as SKAO, and academia,” says Paul Häyhänen.

It is, as he sees it, a two-way exchange of knowledge.

“Companies are helped by gaining a deeper understanding of what science hopes to achieve in the future, and academia needs insights into existing technologies, what can already be done, and what needs to be developed,” concludes Paul Häyhänen.