An Italian Space Technology exhibition has opened at Flinders Victoria Square in Adelaide. It will be open to the public until 14 January 2018.
Organised by the Consulate of Italy in SA in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, or ASI), the exhibition is being supported by the Italian discipline at Flinders University’s College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
Its opening this week coincides with an visit to South Australia by the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Hon Angelino Alfano, and other dignitaries. It also follows the official launch of a new research collaboration between Flinders University and Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and research company CETENA.
The exhibition showcases Italian achievements in aerospace science, with the ASI a leading international player in space science, satellite technologies and the development of mobile systems for exploring the universe.
For more than 20 years, the agency has built close involvement with the construction and activities of the International Space Station, worked closely with NASA and become the third cooperating country in the European Space Agency.
This year, Italy and Australia signed a treaty-level Agreement on Scientific, Technological and Innovation Cooperation.
At the recent 68th International Aeronautical Congress in Adelaide, Federal Minister Simon Birmingham announced plans to establish an Australian Space Agency with the political headquarter in Canberra and research and scientific branches in Adelaide.
Italian is one of the most widely spoken language after English in South Australia (29,106 speakers in the 2016 Census).
Flinders has been teaching and researching Italian language and culture for 46 years, and has been instrumental in strengthening the linguistic and cultural ties between Italy and South Australia.
“All academic staff in the Italian discipline contribute to the undergraduate and Honours programs,” says Senior Lecturer in Italian, Dr Daniela Rose.
“In addition, Masters and doctoral programs by research thesis have been a core activity of the discipline since its inception and have provided research training to individuals who have distinguished themselves in leadership positions at other Australasian universities and in the international diplomatic corps,” she says.
Admission is free to the exhibition at Flinders University’s ground floor reception area gallery at 182 Victoria Square, city.