The Widening Impacts Fall 2025 Webinar Series officially kicked off with an inspiring presentation by the SeaTecHub project – the Croatia-Cyprus Excellence Hub on Eco-Innovative Technologies for Healthy and Productive Seas , an Excellence Hubs project funded under the Horizon Europe WIDERA call.
Its mission is to strengthen Croatian and Cypriot innovation ecosystems and improve access to excellence for research and innovation actors through cross-border collaboration and a shared strategy in the field of eco-innovative technologies for healthy and productive seas.
The opening webinar featured Dr. Ioannis Kyriakides, Project Coordinator at the Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute (CMMI), who guided participants through SeaTecHub’s journey—from the proposal stage and consortium creation to its ongoing achievements and long-term ambitions.
The session explored how the SeaTecHub consortium was formed, the milestones achieved, and the challenges faced in implementing a cross-border excellence initiative. The discussion concluded with insights into the consortium’s post-project vision, focusing on how challenges will be turned into solutions that create lasting impact.
The project’s work is focused on five key sectors of the Blue Economy, as outlined in the EU Blue Economy Report 2021, Aquaculture and Fisheries, Smart Ports,Maritime Security and Protection Research and Education, Maritime Technologies.
These sectors align closely with the Smart Specialization Strategies of both Croatia and Cyprus, reinforcing regional strengths and emerging opportunities in sustainable maritime innovation.
SeaTecHub brings together a diverse consortium representing the quadruple helix of innovation—spanning research organizations, public authorities, businesses, and NGOs.
The SeaTecHub project pursues several strategic objectives: facilitate long-term cross-border and inter-sectoral collaboration to advance eco-innovative maritime technologies , perform joint research to close knowledge gaps and reinforce collaboration between all quadruple-helix actors, implement mutual learning and skills development measures, raise the visibility of the Croatian and Cypriot innovation ecosystems through targeted networking and knowledge-exchange events.
To achieve these goals, the project is implementing measures such as developing joint strategies and Action and Investment Plans (AIPs),digitalizing strategies using an innovative platform with blockchain-based tokenization, designing and planning pilot and demonstrator projects and organizing outreach activities to enhance stakeholder engagement and dissemination.
By launching the Fall 2025 Webinar Series with the presentation of SeaTecHub’s Story, the Widening Impacts initiative has set a strong tone for the months ahead. The series will continue to showcase leading Excellence Hubs projects—each contributing to the growth of a collaborative and resilient European innovation ecosystem.
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