The first year of INESCTEC.OCEAN marked an intense period of construction, consolidation and assertion as an initiative for ocean-related application activities within INESC TEC. Over these 12 months, INESCTEC.OCEAN – with the ambition of becoming a Centre of Excellence in Ocean Research and Engineering has turned a shared vision into an active, multidisciplinary ecosystem focused on scientific, technological and societal impact.
It started with the expertise from different INESC TEC research centres and complementary skills in the field of maritime infrastructures, enabling the integrated development of areas like ocean observation and monitoring, advanced sensors and instrumentation, robotics and autonomous systems, offshore structures’ design, ocean renewable energy, data science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) applied to the marine environment. This integration has made it possible to build a truly transversal and unifying approach, capable of addressing the ocean’s complex challenges in a holistic way.
Throughout the first year, INESC TEC has been involved in multiple national and European projects, strengthening the presence in international excellence networks and contributing to strategic agendas linked to ocean sustainability, the Blue Economy and the digital transition. Within these ongoing projects, new technologies have been developed and tested for environmental monitoring and for the exploration and protection of marine ecosystems, many of them validated in real contexts, including trials at sea and in coastal environments. These developments have improved the collection, analysis and interpretation of ocean information, contributing to the technological capacity of the national ecosystem that is growing around INESC TEC’s centre of gravity, which not only contributes directly to a deeper understanding of the marine environment, but also enables higher quality and greater confidence in evidence-based decision-making by public and private entities.
Plus, INESCTEC.OCEAN has invested strongly in developing people’s skills, involving senior researchers, early-career researchers and PhD and master’s students. The first year was marked by the establishment of multidisciplinary teams, the supervision of academic work and the creation of an accelerating environment for innovation, creativity and scientific development.
INESCTEC.OCEAN has also established itself as a space for close collaboration with industry, public authorities, academia and other stakeholders, promoting the transfer of knowledge and technology. Strategic partnerships were established with national and international companies and institutions, resulting in the joint development of technological solutions and innovation initiatives geared towards the real needs of the maritime sector.
At infrastructures’ level, INESCTEC.OCEAN has been particularly active in supporting the implementation of the Hub Azul de Leixões – Polo I project – which, among key priorities, includes the construction of an ocean basin with wave generation. This is a key investment that will provide INESC TEC and the other consortium institutions with testing conditions for offshore structures equivalent to open-sea trials. With a volume of 18,000 cubic metres and a depth of 10 metres, once completed the basin will be among the largest marine technology testing infrastructures in Europe.
Communication and engagement with society have also been priorities: INESCTEC.OCEAN has taken part in scientific, technological and public outreach events. One highlight is the organisation of the event Camões, o Mar, a Tecnologia e a Ciência Portuguesas, focused on drawing parallels between the scientific challenges faced by navigators in the Age of Discoveries and current challenges in the exploration and understanding of the ocean. As part of the celebrations of INESC TEC’s 40th anniversary, this event sought to increase ocean literacy and bring research closer to society – an effort that reinforces the role of the Centre of Excellence as an active agent in promoting a more sustainable, resilient and technologically advanced ocean.
On reaching the first anniversary, INESCTEC.OCEAN looks to the future with ambition and a sense of duty. The work carried out has laid solid foundations for a path of excellence, innovation and impact, reinforcing the commitment to science, engineering and the sustainable exploration of the ocean, safeguarding an essential heritage for future generations. None of this would have been possible without the dedication and engagement of INESC TEC’s researchers, who clearly and wholeheartedly embraced the challenge of turning this ambition into reality. The work achieved is the result of a collective effort and of a dedicated team which, in the coming years, we hope will continue to grow and consolidate this initiative towards a bluer future.
By Diana Viegas, Coordinator of INESCTEC.OCEAN
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