RINA Hellas announces the opening of a dedicated research and innovation centre in Piraeus. RINA’s R&D/Innovation Centre will boost the research and innovation activities of RINA worldwide and will explore further research opportunities in Greece and Cyprus, in close cooperation with the strong maritime community in the region.
Initially the RINA Hellas R&D/Innovation Centre is participating in an EC research proposal under the HORIZON 2020 scheme. This proposal brings together an international consortium to develop models and tools for the holistic optimization of ships’ life cycles.
Spyros Zolotas, RINA Area Manager for Greece and Cyprus, says, “RINA is committed to providing high quality services and to being in the forefront of technological developments so as to assist its clients perform better in today’s competitive market. The R&D/Innovation Centre in Piraeus will add a new higher dimension and extend the range of services offered in the area though the Piraeus Marine, the Plan Approval Centre, the Marine Technical Support Centre, the Yachting Centre and RINA Academy Hellas.”
Stefanos Chatzinikolaou has been appointed to lead the Centre. He is a Naval Architect and Marine Engineer, with a background of ten years as a research engineer at the National Technical University of Athens, working in several EC-funded and other research projects.
RINA Services is already active in R&D and will present the AnNa Project, a current EU project, in Athens on 4-5 December 2015.
Mario Dogliani, Manager of RINA Connecting Europe Facilities (CEF) Projects, says, “AnNa (Advanced National Networks for Administrations) is a TEN-T Multi-Annual Programme co-financed by the European Commission. Its overall objective is the adoption of the national Maritime Single Window and electronic data transmission for the fulfilment of reporting requirements for vessels entering and departing European ports in accordance with EC Directive 2010/65/EU.”
Source: RINA