Event highlighted shared challenges in ocean monitoring, exploration and sustainable management, while underscoring the importance of evidence-based public policy.
For one day, the more than 11,000 kilometres separating Porto from Taiwan seemed much shorter, as an event jointly organised by INESC TEC and the National Institutes of Applied Research (NIAR) created a platform for dialogue on the links between science, public policy and innovation in addressing the challenges of ocean sustainability. Discussions focused on areas of expertise shared by both institutions, including marine robotics, autonomous systems, AI, high-performance computing, data engineering for ocean intelligence, ocean infrastructure monitoring and public policy for the oceans.
The event brought together Grace Chang, Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in Portugal, alongside representatives from the Directorate-General for Maritime Policy (DGPM), the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), DSTelecom and other organisations from Portugal’s Blue Economy ecosystem. According to Andreia Passos, Head of International Relations at INESC TEC, the event confirmed the “strong harmony between Portugal’s and Taiwan’s ocean agendas”, as well as the “clear complementarity between the scientific and technological capabilities of the two ecosystems”.
The collaboration between INESC TEC and NIAR is a clear example of this complementarity – an essential requirement in a field such as ocean science, where global challenges demand responses informed by diverse geographical, scientific and technological perspectives. While INESC TEC showcased the expertise in marine robotics, autonomous systems and ocean technologies, with contributions from a broad range of Portuguese stakeholders, the Taiwanese delegation included experts and research centres specialising in ocean research (TORI), high-performance computing (NCHC) and science and technology policy (STPI).
The programme also featured INESCTEC.OCEAN, the Centre of Excellence led by INESC TEC, which brings together the Institute’s “expertise and that of other national partners to support the transformation of Portugal’s Blue Economy ecosystem through science, technology and innovation”.
Although scientific collaboration was at the heart of the event, the importance of public policy remained a central theme. The diversity of participants helped “enrich the debate and bring research closer to policy priorities and emerging challenges which, while shaped by local contexts, are also clearly global in nature”. From the Portuguese perspective, the balance between the scientific topics discussed and national strategic priorities was highlighted during the round table on public policy for the oceans, which referenced the National Ocean Strategy 2021-2030. Meanwhile, the President of NIAR stressed that “Taiwan regards ocean exploration as a major policy priority and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to strengthening cooperation with Portugal in this field”.
Strengthening cooperation
The joint funding mechanism established by INESC TEC and NIAR is already “helping to turn collaborative ambitions into concrete opportunities for researchers and students” by supporting seed R&D projects and scientific mobility initiatives. This has proved particularly valuable in the absence of public research, development and innovation funding instruments for collaboration with third countries. The forum “reinforced” the importance of this funding mechanism and highlighted the need to “strengthen” it, while also identifying additional “opportunities within the government agendas of both regions”. According to Andreia Passos, these efforts will help “support new collaborative teams and transform the connections fostered by the forum into concrete research projects, joint publications, and advanced training opportunities for early-career researchers and doctoral students”.
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