InnovaMare Final Conference and Innovamare Academy

Italian and Croatian partners presented in Šibenik the main achievements of cross-border cooperation: focus on technological innovations and lifelong training to boost the Blue Economy

Innovative marine technologies developed and increased their effectiveness through a consolidated know-how sharing model. This is one of the most value-adding results achieved by Croatia and Italy in the wake of intensive cooperation for sustainable Blue Economy carried out under the EU strategic project InnovaMare. Partners from both countries gathered again at the Polytechnic of Šibenik (Croatia), on Friday May 12, 2023 for the final event of the project which crosses the finishing line after almost 3 years of common activities.

The Conference was organized by the Croatian Chamber of Economy as leading partner of InnovaMare and aimed at further engage quadruple-helix stakeholders (public authorities, universities, industry and citizens) in a long-term strategy to boost the Blue Economy in the Adriatic Sea by taking full advantage of the digital and green transition. The centerpiece of the day was the presentation of results achieved by InnovaMare, with a special focus on the Digital Innovation Hub (DIH), a newly created transnational hub where researchers will keep developing innovative marine and submarine technologies to fight Adriatic pollution. “InnovaMare’s DIH – said InnovaMare partners – aims to become a critical space for technology transfer supported in part by strengthening cooperation between the world of scientific research, public agencies, and the private sector at cross-border and transnational levels, a concrete opportunity to acquire new knowledge and develop highly innovative projects in different sectors of the Blue Economy”.

Video demonstrations of DIH InnovaMare introduced a key panel discussion on “Opportunities and challenges in the development of innovation ecosystem for the digital and green transformation of the blue economy”, coordinated by Mateo Ivanac, InnovaMare project manager, involving all relevant players such as representatives from R&D, private, public and financial sectors.

In the week from May 8, to May 12, started First InnovaMare Academy, a five-day educational workshop on topics related to the digital and green transformation of the blue economy and the application of marine technologies with a focus on robotics and sensors. The InnovaMare Academy is the culmination of the strategic project and is composed of 5 educational workshops in English for a total duration of 20 hours held by renowned lecturers.

During the final conference students who previously attended the InnovaMare Academy, were also ceremonially awarded their studies certificates.

In the afternoon, were organized practical demonstrations of newly developed technological innovations and visits to the Living Lab Adriatic Sea pilots site like Minerska, in the Šibenik surrounding area.