In Ponta Delgada, volcanology, marine biology and biotechnology laboratories sit a short walk from the Atlantic. From 22 to 26 June, the University of the Azores (UAc) hosted "Research & Innovation Trends in Islands, Ports and Coastal Territories," an international intensive course that brought together more than 50 researchers, academic staff and technical experts from across the EUNICoast alliance.
"The visits to the research centres and laboratories at the University of the Azores provided detailed insight into their research capabilities, with a particular focus on volcanology, marine biology, biotechnology, biodiversity, agriculture and the social sciences," a participant from the University of Dubrovnik (Croatia) said.
For researchers working on islands, ports and coastal territories, turning shared interests into joint projects and courses often stalls once the initial networking is done.
The week opened with sessions on research agendas in European university alliances, smart specialisation strategies, EU funding opportunities, Open Science, science communication, research management and intellectual property, the practical toolkit for turning contacts into collaborations. Visits to UAc's research units and laboratories let visiting researchers match their own expertise against the host institution's. A city tour of Ponta Delgada and a study visit on São Miguel grounded the discussions in the island setting itself.
Across 32 participant responses, overall satisfaction reached 4.69 out of 5, and participants rated their likelihood of recommending the programme at 9.25 out of 10, with 25 of the 32 giving a score of 9 or 10. One participant from the West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin (Poland) valued learning to tailor research dissemination to different audiences. A participant from the University of Patras (Greece) pointed to a collaboration now taking shape to prepare and submit a COST Action, an EU-funded scheme for building international research networks. A joint master's programme proposal in Migration and Cooperation, involving four partner universities, is also being developed following discussions held during the week.
The programme was delivered under WP3 (Research and Innovation), part of EUNICoast's shared work on island, port and coastal territories.
The course was hosted by the University of the Azores (Portugal), with researchers, academic staff and technical experts from partner universities including Université Le Havre Normandie (France), University of the Antilles (France), University of the Balearic Islands (Spain), West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin (Poland), Stralsund University of Applied Sciences (Germany), Åland University of Applied Sciences (Finland), Burgas Free University (Bulgaria), University of Patras (Greece), University of Dubrovnik (Croatia), University of Sassari (Italy) and Euro-Mediterranean University (Slovenia).
