EMPORIA4KT at a glance
Programme: Interreg Atlantic Area European Regional Development Fund
Thematic Priority: Innovation and Competitiveness
Duration: 1 March 2019 – 30 June 2023
Consortium: 17 partners from 5 countries
Coordinator: Universidade Nova de Lisboa – Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (Portugal)
Total Budget: €2.79 million
The Challenge
The European Union (EU) Blue Economy represents all economic activities related to oceans, seas and coastal regions and covers areas such as fisheries, shipbuilding, tourism and ocean energy. The sector currently provides employment for almost 3.5 million people in Europe, and continues to grow. However, investments in innovation are needed to create new business opportunities and to sustainably manage our ocean and sea resources. Commercialisation of technological innovations is a key driver of long-term economic growth, but Early Stage Technologies (EST) developed through academic research often do not reach market. To drive sustainable growth of the EU Blue Economy, better links are needed between academia, business and government - sectors which often have different motivations.
PROJECT OBJECTIVE
EMPORIA4KT will improve transnational cooperation and synergies between the triple helix players of academia, business and government, to foster innovation and competitiveness in support of the Blue Economy in the Atlantic Area.
The project will do so by empowering researchers to transfer their knowledge outputs and innovations to different sectors.
EXPECTED RESULTS
1.
Identification and sharing of best practices in knowledge transfer and innovation through organisation of events, focusing on the role of academia to foster cooperation between triple helix players
2.
Development of a Joint Action Plan to enhance knowledge transfer & innovation capacity to foster the Atlantic Area’s Blue Economy competitiveness at regional, interregional & transnational level
3.
Design of advanced risk assessment and cost effectiveness tools for academia and public bodies to de-risk EST that respond to a Blue Economy need in the Atlantic Area
4.
Development of an Academia Technology Enhancer operational tool available online to other research institutions that wish to upgrade skills in Knowledge Transfer and Innovation
5.
Positively influence public policy through assessment and resulting recommendations of regional RDI capacity and funding tools to mature EST for commercialisation and value creation and competitiveness in the Atlantic Area
6.
Development of a methodology to assess regional research capability together with industry and market needs, which will be made generic and transferable to other regions and across disciplines
7.
Publication of a report that identifies key Blue Economy areas for each Atlantic Area region and funding support required
8.
Organisation of national and international bootcamps to enhance the Blue Economy in Atlantic Areas, resulting in evaluation of investment in RDI and industry needs in the Blue Economy, and national RDI capacity to support development
9.
Training on knowledge transfer and innovation, where the learning tool co-developed by partners will be transmitted to researchers
10.
An international brokerage event to share success stories on knowledge transfer and innovation in the Blue Economy