ATLAS was prominent throughout the summit and was hailed by Irish Ministers of State Seán Kyne and Damien English as they launched the new Marine Ecosystem Service Report, which was published by ATLAS partners from the Socio-Economic Marine Research Unit (SEMRU) at NUI Galway. The project was also highly visible to the more than 600 attendees of the Marine Ireland Trade Show, where members of AquaTT ran a stand displaying ATLAS factsheets and brochures.
The summit featured panel discussions and presentations with leading politicians, academics and industry figures from across Europe and North America represented. These sessions offered insights on the future of Ireland’s blue economy, and explored topics such as emerging technologies, sustainable blue growth in Irish waters, possible impacts of Brexit on the European fishing industry and the importance of improved international collaboration to establishing Ireland as a global leader in marine research and innovation.
ATLAS partners Dr Stephen Hynes and Dr Oisín Callery from NUI Galway and AquaTT’s Dr Annette Wilson were active participants in the conference and noted the contributions ATLAS has made to many of these core issues. Dr Hynes was one of 30 participants present at The Blue Economy Industry-Government-Academia Dialogue Meeting which took place in conjunction with the Summit in Galway. Participants from across the triple helix of industry, academia/research and government bodies engaged in lively discussion around three case studies demonstrating active examples of the triple helix in operation. The debate covered issues surrounding ownership of product ideas, differing objectives of industry versus academic partners and the additional cost and benefits of having a triple helix partnership in research projects.
The Summit concluded with celebrations of the 5th anniversary of the Galway Statement and a positive outlook towards further transatlantic ocean research and cooperation.
To read more about the summit, please see: https://www.ouroceanwealth.ie/oow-summit
RV Celtic Explorer at SeaFest 2018