Business2Sea is an international event focused on the development of projects and businesses across the different sectors of the ocean economy. Promoted by the Portuguese association Fórum Oceano and the Maritime Technology Centre (Cetmar), this event was initially set to be held in Vigo for the first time, but the health situation caused by COVID-19 forced it to adopt a virtual format. The symposium, with nearly 600 participants, began on Monday, coinciding with Portugal’s National Sea Day, and will run until Friday. Over these five days, the University of Vigo, through CIM and Campus do Mar, will present several of its projects related to the marine economy, such as Sherpa do Mar, the European Blue Biobank, MarRisk, and Algalup.
Sherpa do Mar, on the first day
The inaugural day this Monday included a workshop titled Towards a pact for skills in the maritime technology industry, which focused on the blue economy and the needs of sectors such as shipbuilding, maritime transport, and renewable energies. Among the initiatives presented was the Sherpa do Mar project, promoted by the REDE group, Campus do Mar, and the R&D Office, leading a consortium that includes the universities of Porto, A Coruña, and Santiago, along with Ciimar, Uptec, the Vigo Free Zone, Fundação Fórum Oceano, and Gain.
The overall objective of Sherpa do Mar is to establish a new cross-border network between Galicia and northern Portugal to boost the creation and consolidation of new knowledge-intensive business activities in the marine and maritime field. In the presentation, delivered by researcher Andrea Ogando from the REDE group, the relevance of cross-border cooperation in identifying entrepreneurial needs in the maritime sector and the synergies within the entrepreneurship support ecosystem was analyzed.
Additionally, on Monday’s session, UVigo researcher Kais Jacob Mohamed Falcon also took part in a parallel session on the priorities for a successful skills strategy in maritime industrial ecosystems, such as offshore renewable energy, shipbuilding, and maritime transport.
The next appearance of the University of Vigo at this forum will be tomorrow, Wednesday, when Professor Luis Domínguez will take part in a workshop on the relevance of the maritime dimension in cross-border programming instruments in the Galicia–Northern Portugal Euroregion.
On Thursday, three CIM projects.
On Thursday, the Marine Research Centre of the University of Vigo (CIM-UVigo) will have a prominent presence within Business2Sea, with three workshops focused on three projects that are either coordinated by or involve CIM.
As coordinator of the EBB project, CIM is organizing the workshop Do not be a biopirate: the European Blue Biobank can help you use marine genetic resources legally, which will take place at 9:30 a.m. The main objective of this workshop is to inform and raise awareness about the obligations related to access and use of genetic resources, derived from the Nagoya Protocol (2010) and associated regulations, presenting a series of case studies based on the experience gained from the EBB project, led by Jesús Souza Troncoso (Ecocost, CIM). During the workshop, one of the project’s outcomes—a step-by-step guide for users of marine genetic resources—will be presented by Fiz da Costa (CIM), and the lessons learned will be discussed in a roundtable moderated by Belén Martín (CIM).
During the second workshop on Thursday, starting at 12:30 p.m., the results of the MarRISK project will be presented by representatives from different partner institutions, such as Cetmar, IIM-CSIC, and the universities of Vigo, Aveiro, and Minho. Co-financed by the POCTEP programme and coordinated at the University of Vigo by Ramón Gómez Gesteira (Ephyslab, CIM), the project aimed to assess the most relevant coastal risks associated with climate change. The results presented in this workshop will help improve the adaptation and response capacity of coastal communities in the Euroregion in order to face and mitigate these risks and their consequences.
Among other studies, Carlos Rodríguez from the REDE group will present an analysis on increasing resilience in ports, focusing on the port of A Coruña.
Starting at 4:30 p.m., the last workshop of the afternoon involving the University of Vigo will take place, where some of the results of the Algalup project will be presented—Comprehensive alternative for the exploitation of macroalgae in Galicia and Portugal, coordinated by Anfaco-Cecopesca and involving CIM along with six other entities (University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, CTAQUA, University of A Coruña, University of the Azores, Bantry Marine Research Station Ltd, and AquaTT–Intrigo). Titled Knowledge transfer opportunities on macroalgae exploitation, the workshop is designed to deepen the understanding of some recent research results from the project and to establish links that facilitate the uptake of findings from both past and future research. A panel of experts will discuss how to make the most of macroalgae exploitation. The workshop will be moderated by Jesús S. Troncoso, researcher at CIM and professor at the University of Vigo.
The research activity of the CIM has the support of the Xunta de Galicia and the European Union, through its co-financing under the FEDER/FSE Galicia 2014-2020 Operational Program.
Source: DUVI
