The University of Vigo is once again represented in the Atlantic Project Awards, with three selected projects in which researchers from the Marine Research Center (CIM) participate, two of them coordinated by the Campus do Mar and another by the Marine Research Center and the IEO.
These awards are part of the celebration of the 7th Atlantic Stakeholder Platform Conference (ASPC2020), a symposium that aims to launch the Atlantic Action Plan 2.0, a renewed maritime strategy to promote a sustainable blue economy and the EU Green Deal. This event, which will take place this Thursday 19 in virtual mode, will bring together high-level officials, renowned experts and representatives of the business world to discuss the new Atlantic maritime strategy, especially in the context of the recovery efforts of the participating countries. Throughout the day, the winners of the Atlantic Project Awards competition will be announced, which aim to highlight success stories achieved by projects in the geographical area covered by the Atlantic Strategy and related to the implementation of the Atlantic Action Plan 2.0.
UVigo has three finalist projects in these awards: BlueBioLab, MarENet and EcoAfrik. The call includes five categories related to the priority pillars of the Atlantic Strategy and the Atlantic Action Plan 2.0, such as Atlantic ports and the blue economy; marine training and ocean literacy; marine renewable energy; healthy ocean and coastal resilience; and international cooperation in the Atlantic area. The applications submitted are evaluated by a committee composed of members of the European Commission and the Atlantic Strategy Group.
BlueBioLab, in the Atlantic ports and blue economy category
In the Atlantic Ports and Blue Economy category, the European project Bluebiolab – Transfrontier Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology has been selected, funded by the Interreg-Poctep call and led by the Campus do Mar of the University of Vigo under the coordination of Jose Manuel García, director of Ecimat and researcher in the Byciama group of the Marine Research Center (CIM). Bluebiolab’s main objective is to create a transborder laboratory of scientific excellence in the field of marine biotechnology in order to increase the capacity to develop excellence in the field of R&D and strengthen and internationalize the innovative capacities of the territory, thus optimizing the use of infrastructures to research and contribute to achieving the expected results in RIS3, RIS3 T and the blue growth strategy.
MarENet, selected in the marine training and ocean literacy category
The MarENet – Atlantic Maritime Ecosystem Network project, funded by the European Commission Easme-Emff and coordinated by Campus do Mar under the direction of Daniel Rey, director of the CIM and coordinator of the GEOMA Group, is nominated in the Marine Training and Ocean Literacy category. Its objective is to strengthen cooperation between maritime companies and the academic world to improve the visibility of training and professional opportunities in the Blue Economy sector in Europe. This project is closely linked to the Blue Growth Strategy implemented in the Port of Vigo, as a pioneering entity in this transformation.
EcoAfrik, selected in the modality of international cooperation in the Atlantic Area
Finally, in the category of International Cooperation in the Atlantic Area, the project EcoAfrik – Biodiversity of African Benthic Ecosystem is nominated, a work jointly coordinated by Ana Ramos, researcher at the Spanish Institute of Oceanography and Francisco Ramil, from the Environmental Biology Group of the CIM. This initiative seeks to promote research on benthic fauna and vulnerable ecosystems in developing countries in Africa, especially in northwest Africa, using as a key point the transfer of knowledge and the training of new African researchers in this field, in order to be able to continue with the research after the completion of the project.
Todos os proxectos nomeados daranse a coñecer no transcurso da 7th Atlantic Stakeholder Platform Conference (ASPC2020) a través dunha exhibición virtual, de xeito que os participantes neste simposio poderán coñecer mellor os finalistas e interactuar cos seus representantes.
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
