Emporia4KT

EMPORIA4KT at a Glance 

  • Programme: Interreg Atlantic Area European Regional Development Fund
  • Thematic Priority: Innovation and Competitiveness
  • Duration: 1 March 2019 – 28 February 2022 (36 months)
  • Consortium: 14 partners from 5 countries
  • Coordinator: Universidade Nova de Lisboa – Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (Portugal)
  • Budget: €2.3 million

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.

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.

Please log onto the project website for more information www.emporia4kt.com .