Researchers
Alastair Walker (Lorit)
Seconded from Lorit to Graz University of Technology (TUG)Â
2 months, Summer 2020; 1 month, Autumn 2020 & 1 month, Winter 2022
The secondments give us the chance to share experiences between industry and academia. Often as a consultancy your time is limited due to the commercial pressures, by working with someone in academia they can invest the necessary hours and the reviews together are key to establishing the values of different strategies for risk, software development and cybersecurity in the medical device and automotive worlds.
Being able to present to students at the TU Graz on the challenges of medical device development was also highly rewarding as you have the opportunity to give the students an insight into many of the real world challenges we face as a consultancy on a daily basis.
We will be working further with OpenInnoTrain on risk analysis techniques for engineering projects, as this sort of collaboration is highly beneficial for both parties.
We have asked Alastair some questions regarding his most recent secondment (2022), and here’s what he explained:
What was your main motivation for going on a secondment?
The main motivation is to exchange knowledge between industry and academia. Both parties stand to gain from these exchanges
What did you achieve during your secondment?
The secondment enabled us to look at different risk analysis techniques to analyse the safety of a robotic system
What would you recommend to someone considering to undertake a secondment?
I would recommend finding a topic that is interesting and relevant to you, this then gives the motivation to approach the subject and you stand a better chance of generating a successful and productive outcome for both parties!