On 16-18 July 2018, Apulia Region hosted the 2nd Steering Committee meeting of the BLUE_BOOST project in Giovinazzo (BA) and organized the project’s 1st transnational Cross-Field Visit for delegations from 7 maritime territories in the Adriatic-Ionian region.
The BLUE_BOOST partners presented the state of the art of the project and discussed about the upcoming activities – Blue Labs, Blue Workshop Scenarios and Hackathon – that aim to identify and address innovation challenges within the Blue Growth sector. On these occasions, local MSMEs and start-ups operational in traditional and emerging Blue Growth sectors will be able to boost their innovation capacities and transnational cooperation, with support from the Knowledge Providers – namely, RD&I bodies and “new innovation agents” (fablabs, innovation hubs, living labs, etc.).
BLUE_BOOST transnational call for innovation vouchers will be launched at a later stage, where Blue MSMEs/start-ups, in collaboration with Knowledge Providers, will have an opportunity to apply for a voucher of up to 9.000 EUR to realize an innovation project.
The project also foresees 7 Cross-Field Visits, and the first was held on 17th and 18th July in Apulia Region in the field of aquaculture. Delegations from seven maritime territories of Italy, Croatia, Greece and Albania visited Consorzio Gargano Pesca, a consortium of companies operating in sea aquaculture, situated in Manfredonia; and Coispa, experimental laboratories for sea resources studies, situated in Torre a Mare. The Cross-Field Visit demonstrated both the business and research approach of developing good farming practices for sustainable aquaculture.
