A new mentoring programme has been launched that will support early-career, Blue Economy researchers in Europe to improve their innovation and technology transfer skills.
The Blue Economy Technology Transfer Programme, organised and led by the EMPORIA4KT project funded by the EU Interreg Atlantic Area Programme, will provide researchers in France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and the UK with the unique opportunity to gain vital Knowledge Transfer (KT) skills for their future careers in Blue Economy innovation.
António Grilo, EMPORIA4KT Coordinator, said “To meet the EU-wide ambition of creating a sustainable Blue Economy, we need to support our early-career researchers to develop their innovation, technology transfer and commercialisation skills. The expert mentorship provided by our programme equips researchers with the practical experience needed to transfer great ideas into commercially viable products. I am excited to see the outcomes of this fantastic initiative”.
Participants will learn how to direct Research and Development towards market, industry and public/private investment. They will also explore how to de-risk the Early Stage Technology (EST) development process and how to make EST more attractive to investment.
Participants will complete online workshops that focus on skills related to innovation and technology transfer activities. This will be followed by a 9-month mentoring programme during which national teams of researchers will determine the best commercialisation routes for real case studies of Early Stage Technologies in the Blue Economy (drawn from EMPORIA4KT’s parallel Call for Technologies).
The programme will conclude with a brokerage event in Brussels, where teams selected from earlier national events across the five participating countries will pitch their EST commercialisation plan to an audience of international Blue Economy expert stakeholders. One EST will be selected to receive additional funding for further proof-of-concept studies.
Applications, mentoring and online training workshops are all free. Any costs for required travel will be covered by EMPORIA4KT.
The programme is open to early-career researchers (current PhD students or those who are within 3 years of graduating from their PhD) who are working at a Higher Education Institution or Research Centre in France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain or the UK. For full information about the programme, including eligibility criteria, application details, and national contact points, please visit https://www.emporia4kt.com/ttprogramme. The deadline for applications is 16 October 2020.