The MARITEC-X consortium aims to create a Marine and Maritime Research Innovation and Technology Centre of Excellence based in Cyprus to act as an enabler of scientific and business excellence in Marine and Maritime issues in the Eastern and broader South-eastern Mediterranean. The Centre will be aligned to the overall Smart Specialization Strategy for Cyprus (S3CY) and the European priorities on specific pillars with competitive advantages to the Cypriot economy. Focusing on key priority sectors identified within the Smart Specialization Strategy for Cyprus such as energy, tourism, transport and shipping, MARITEC-X Centre of Excellence will seek partnering relationships with well-known European institutions that will assist to the transfer of knowledge, co-develop sustainability and research programs, handover best practices and consult towards the creation of a critical mass of infrastructure and human capital in the region.

Integrating activities planned under MaRINET 2 build upon the achievements of the advanced community created in MaRINET FP7. MaRINET 2 will ensure the continued integration and enhancement of all leading European research infrastructure and facilities specialising in research, development and testing of offshore renewable energy systems including electrical sub systems and grid integration through a range of TRLs (1-7). MaRINET FP7 proved the added value of uniting these facilities, and substantially improving their capability as a community of practice to deliver consistent testing services ensuring, quantifiable, stepwise innovation and progress in the development of devices and key components, and identifying critical areas for further technical investigation and enhancement. Whilst activities proposed under MaRINET 2 will follow the same formula, balancing networking/ joint research/ and transnational access, the consortium and scope of work is expanded to include xx partners in xx countries with xx facilities. The e-infrastructure programme fills a strategic gap. Taking stock of existing capacities for data management/sharing; it addresses user requirements and demonstrates the operation of a new system based on standards and tools adapted from the SeaDataNet infrastructure. The European Commission and member states recognise offshore renewable energy as an important source of clean energy that can: generate economic growth and employment; increase energy security; and boost competitiveness and technological innovation. The realisation of this potential depends on the accelerated development, deployment and grid integration of reliable, efficient technologies for harvesting offshore renewable energy, which in turn requires robust and exhaustive testing in dedicated facilities operated by practitioners with specialised expertise. MaRINET 2 provides this ecosystem, and is pre-eminently suited to fostering the next generation of offshore renewable energy devices.

The coastal area is the most productive and dynamic environment of the world ocean with significant resources and services for mankind. JERICO-NEXT (33 organizations from 15 countries) emphasizes that the complexity of the coastal ocean cannot be well understood if interconnection between physics, biogeochemistry and biology is not guaranteed. Such an integration requires new technological developments allowing continuous monitoring of a larger set of parameters. In the continuity of JERICO(FP7), the objective of JERICO-NEXT consists in strengthening and enlarging a solid and transparent European network in providing operational services for the timely, continuous and sustainable delivery of high quality environmental data and information products related to marine environment in European coastal seas Other objectives are: Support European coastal research communities, enable free and open access to data, enhance the readiness of new observing platform networks by increasing the performance of sensors, showcase of the adequacy of the so-developed observing technologies and strategies, propose a medium-term roadmap for coastal observatories through a permanent dialogue with stakeholders. Innovation JERICO-NEXT is based of a set of technological and methodological innovations. One main innovation potential is to provide a simple access to a large set of validated crucial information to understand the global change in coastal areas. Although JERICO-NEXT already includes industrial partners, it will be open to other research institutes, laboratories and private companies which could become associated partners to the project. Added values of JERICO NEXT JERICO-RI shall send data and information in an operational mode to European data systems, with dedicated service access. One of the strengths of JERICO-NEXT lies in the fact that technological and methodological developments shall be deployed in natural environment.

We are standing at the dawn of a century that will be largely affected by how we as a society are able to manage our oceans and their resources. Marine and Maritime Research has a critical role to play in developing our understanding of the seas and advance technology so that we can develop their economic potential in a sustainable manner. The COLUMBUS project intends to capitalise on the EC’s significant research by ensuring accessibility and uptake of research Knowledge Outputs by end-users (policy, industry, science and wider society). COLUMBUS will ensure measurable value creation from research investments contributing to sustainable Blue Growth within the timeframe of the project. Adopting proven methodologies and building on significant past work, COLUMBUS will first identify end-user needs and priorities. It will then set about identifying and collecting “Knowledge Outputs” from past and current EC projects. Rigorous analysis will take place to identify specific applications and end-users. Transfer will be achieved and measured through tailor-made knowledge transfer. All knowledge collected will be made accessible the pre-existing Marine Knowledge Gate. To achieve the above, COLUMBUS has brought together a multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder team representing all aspects of the research value chain from funding agencies to end-users. Key strategic initiatives and networks further strengthen and provide a strong vehicle for project legacy. A network of 9 Competence Nodes, each with a “Knowledge Fellow” and support team across Europe will provide the necessary critical mass (470pm of effort) to ensure full thematic and spatial coverage. COLUMBUS will also carry out strategic actions to enhance the visibility and impact of research to stakeholders and European Citizen’s. Furthermore working with funding agencies and stakeholders, COLUMBUS will examine the feasibility of improved systems and processes to ensure measurable value creation from research.