The aerospace division of the engineering and technology group (SENER) has received today the Madrid Regional Minister of Education and Research, Mr. Rafael van Grieken, and the General Director of Research and Innovation, Mr. Alejandro Arranz, to present the company activities in the aerospace sector, especially the ‘Madrid Flight on Chip’ project, partially funded by the Madrid Regional Government and the European Regional Development Fund.

The General Manager of SENER Aerospace, Mr. José Julián Echevarría, and the Business Development and Strategy Manager of SENER Aerospace, Mr. Diego Rodríguez, welcomed the attendees, gave an initial presentation of the work being carried out at SENER, and briefly explained the ‘Madrid Flight on Chip’ (MFoC) project. Afterwards, there was a tour showcasing some of the main projects and capabilities of SENER in the aerospace sector.

The visit ended with a more in-depth presentation of the MFoC project by the representatives of the partners: SENER (project coordinator), the Carlos III University of Madrid (uc3m), the IMDEA Software Institute, The Reuse Company, Centum Solutions, Genera Tecnologías, and MARM.

The scientific director of IMDEA Software, Manuel Carro, said: “software is playing a predominant role in aerospace technology today. Moving from embedded, intercommunicating, and certified systems to having system-on-chip makes developing their software much more challenging than before”. In addition, Carro has declared how important it is for the IMDEA Software Institute to participate in a project of this caliber: “we are very happy to collaborate in MFoC because it gives us exposure to a type of software - -aerospace software- to which we do not normally have access. By its characteristics, we believe it is a class of complex software that performs essential functions and that we see a an opportunity to apply and evolve our capabilities, while still posing an affordable challenge”.

Rafael van Grieken, Regional Minister of Education and Research, stated that Madrid is a focus of attraction for companies today but that there is still a need to strengthen business initiatives, particularly based on advanced technologies. “I am convinced that the Madrid Flight On Chip project will impact more satellites, more companies, and many more people on planet Earth than those of us who are here in Madrid and in Spain”, concluded Mr. van Grieken.

View the photo gallery of the event and SENER’s press release.