EU-Funded Collaboration Hub Aims to Accelerate Blue Economy Innovation
Crowdhelix, a global innovation platform designed to foster collaboration among expert researchers, business leaders and investors has launched its latest Helix, the Mission Oceans Helix.
The Mission Oceans Helix has been specifically designed to accelerate innovation throughout the blue economy by instigating collaboration among experts engaged in the protection of marine ecosystems and the construction of high-impact value chains.
The launch of the Mission Oceans Helix comes at a time when the field is advancing at an exceptional pace.
The gross value added by the blue economy in 2020 was €129.1 billion, contributing 1.1% to the EU-27’s economy. Additionally, fish for human consumption is projected to increase by 14% to reach 182 Mt by 2032.
The rapid degradation of marine and freshwater ecosystems poses challenges that threaten the well-being of European citizens. A facet underlined in the EU’s Green Deal and its Mission to “Restore Our Ocean and Waters” by 2030.
The Mission Oceans Helix aims to accelerate innovation to support sustainable economic growth in the sector while improving the health and viability of our oceans and waters.
To achieve that objective, members of the Helix will have access to a global network of experts, international funding opportunities, and the chance to collaborate on cutting-edge research projects.
Crowdhelix’s Joana Soares, manager of the Mission Oceans Helix, believes that the Helix will help bring expert innovators and thought-leading business leaders together so that they can collaboratively develop cost-efficient solutions that deliver ecological and economic impact.
“The social, ecological and economic value of ocean literacy and the blue economy has long been recognised.”
“Multidisciplinarity is key to overcoming the challenges facing the blue economy”.
“Engagement at local and international levels, alongside the mobilisation of experts across all marine-related fields is essential to achieving the ambition laid out in the EU Green Deal and the Mission to “Restore Our Ocean and Waters” by 2030”.
“However, building cross-sectoral teams that can identify and build solutions can take time”.
“By helping researchers and industry experts to build strategic collaborative partnerships, the Mission Oceans Helix can add real value”.
“Members of the Helix can harness its functionality to network, share training material and showcase innovations that can deliver tangible benefits to the sector”.
“I anticipate that our new Mission Oceans Helix will help ambitious innovators to develop solutions that deliver societal, environmental and economic impact”.
The Horizon Europe-funded SHORE project, the anchor project in the Mission Oceans Helix, is indicative of what can be achieved when cross-sectoral experts collaborate.
Coordinated by Yildiz Technical University (Turkey), the project brings together a diverse consortium of 15 partners and is designed to foster greater water literacy among students and educators by empowering young people to become agents of change as active eco-citizens.
SHORE's digital interaction platform allows users to track their environmental footprint and observe the tangible impact of their actions, fostering awareness and sustainability. Furthermore, project participants plant trees as a practical application of environmental conservation.
Professor Afşın Yusuf Çetinkaya, believes that the Mission Oceans Helix will offer a myriad of benefits to the sector by enabling multiple actors to share varied perspectives, knowledge, and methodologies.
“For SHORE, the Mission Oceans Helix acts as a centralised space for dissemination and strategic exploitation of project results, advancing our project impact.”
“Projects like SHORE can only happen if ideas, ambition and expertise coalesce to create effective solutions and ensure continuity of work”.
“We want to actively engage with students, teachers, and schools across five distinct regions: Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Danube River, and Rhine River”.
“Establishing connections within distinctive regions like these can be accelerated through the Helix. This allows researchers like us to broaden our horizons and create ambitious projects like SHORE”.
The Mission Oceans Helix is now open for membership. Researchers, academics, industry experts and regulatory professionals working in the blue economy, water and marine sector are invited to join and contribute to this exciting new community.
For more information on the Mission Oceans Helix and how to join, please visit the Crowdhelix website.
SHORE IS AN EU MISSION RESTORE OUR OCEANS AND WATERS PROJECT. Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101112815.