SAMCoT - Annual Report 2015

SAMC

• ANNUAL REPORT 2015

SAMCoT currently counts 23 different partners after adding

the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat (SPRS) as a Public

Partner in 2015. SPRS’s contribution will be fundamental

to SAMCoT`s field activities. From the total, 13 partners

are industry partners including oil and gas companies,

offshore contractors, design institutes and regulatory

bodies. Eight are research partners including both univer-

sities and research institutes greatly relevant both for the

specific scientific knowledge of their researchers as well as

for their facilities (e.g. ice laboratories, tanks and basins).

The final two are public partners highlighting SAMCoT’s

relevance to society in general. All partners, through the

thorough and committed work of their General Assembly

(GA) Members, contributed to SAMCoT`s reporting efforts

for the Midway evaluation.

To provide our members with updated information on activ-

ities and to strengthen collaboration among the partners,

SAMCoT hosts two annual general meetings which all

SAMCoT partners are encouraged to attend:

• SAMCoT Scientific/PhD/PostDoc Seminar

• SAMCoT Technical Workshop

All sixSAMCoTWorkPackage leaders presented the current

status and future plans of their research areas during the

Technical Workshop held in October before an audience

of approximately 65 industry and research partners. This

event allowed industry and research partners to provide

feedback on the activities and address their priorities and

thoughts regarding the way forward. There was consensus

around the strategic decisions taken that affected the Cost,

Time and Resource (CTR) planning for 2016 concerning

each SAMCoT Research Area.

SAMCoT has entered its harvesting period. A greater focus

on innovation and value creation supports SAMCoT`s vision

of providing fundamental research and other deliverables

that have an impact on the development of the robust

technology needed by the industry.

A clear delivery of the Centre is the twelve PhD candidates

that have now received their doctoral degrees. Some are

already working in the industry, while others have chosen

an academic career as postdocs. Three out of the five PhD

candidates linked to SAMCoT that defended their doctoral

thesis in 2015, decided to continue within SAMCoT as

Postdocs, ensuring continuity and progress in their areas

of research.

The Exploitation and Innovation Committee

(EIAC)

For the participating industry partners it is not only impor-

tant that the scientific level of the research is high, but also

that the research is relevant for their current and future

Arctic activities. Hence, a strong EIAC is fundamental to the

work and strategic direction of SAMCoT. Initially the EIAC’s

primary task was to steer the direction of the research

topics in the different research areas. Now that this task

is clearly achieved, the focus has changed to identifying

innovative techniques. As per the Consortium Agreement

mandate, the EIAC monitors project results with respect to

the potential for commercial exploitation and proposes to

the General Assembly further development of such results

as separate spin-off innovation projects, EU-projects or

pre-competitive projects. To this end, the EIAC met four

times in 2015 to steer the research topics where needed,

to closely follow up the deliverables achieved by SAMCoT

researchers and to assess potential innovations that

represent added value to the industry. A key element to the

work done in 2015 was the planning of a gap assessment

workshop that took place in February 2016.

SAMC

The Year 2015 in Review

2015 was a crucial year for SAMCoT. The Midway evaluation performed by the Centre’s main

funder, the Research Council of Norway, allowed the Centre to undergo an internal review where

all partners were involved. This review process resulted in an objective evaluation of the Centre’s

activities and aims, and provided opportunities for improvement, as well as validation for most

of the Centre’s main activities and direction. SAMCoT received a Green Light from the RCN that

allows the Centre to continue its work, as initially planned, until 2019. SAMCoT was, in addition,

rewarded with a renewed motivation to continue with its activities and to achieve its targets.

Furthermore the Centre will intensify its work towards establishing the basis of the Centre’s

future research targets for after 2019.