The Blue Bioeconomy defined as ‘the production and conversion of renewable marine biological resources into value added products, such as food, feed, bio-based products and bioenergy’ entails a large set of opportunities for European coastal communities. Innovative business models based on circularity; short-chains, digital solutions and ecosystem contributions offer the chance to stabilize and create new enterprises and jobs also for the lower-educated; while transforming remote, rural areas also into interesting, revitalized, climate-friendly places to live. However, blue bioeconomy actors struggle with challenges related to technology, lack of knowledge & skills or regulatory barriers. BlueBioClusters brings together 12 support organizations from across Europe, all of them highly engaged in their 9 regions in assisting start-ups, companies and policy makers to make best use of innovations. They have joined forces to improve, develop and implement new support tools and methods based on systematic collection, benchmarking and joint knowledge creation on *blue biobased value chains, practice cases and incentives, WP2; *ecosystem service valorization, WP3; *technology needs, identification and transfer of solutions, WP4; *start-ups/SMEs; experts and support mechanisms (coaching; co-creation), WP5; as well as *‘Communities of Practices’, to foster long-term stakeholder cooperation within and across the regions; WP6. While we expect to create long-lasting impact already within the project lifetime by engaging with hundreds of actors within our regions to stimulate collaboration and actions for change; activities are designed to be continued post-project, being also open for other Blue Regions, clusters and individual companies to join. To that end, the inter-active BlueBioCluster platform will not only serve as a repository of the projects’ outputs in terms of stakeholders and services, but is set up in such way, that it will be continuously updated and maintained by and with its users also post-project.

The GuardIAS project is an ambitious initiative aimed at transforming aquatic environment governance and management in Europe. Its primary goal is to align with the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the IAS Regulation, focusing on mitigating the impacts of invasive alien species (IAS) on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human health. GuardIAS plans to utilize advanced science, technology, and artificial intelligence to develop innovative tools and methodologies. These tools will be instrumental in preventing, detecting, eradicating, and managing IAS. The project is set to advance through interdisciplinary collaboration, integrating data from various sources to create comprehensive IAS impact profiles and management strategies. A significant aspect of GuardIAS is stakeholder engagement and societal involvement. This will be achieved through Citizen Science initiatives and innovative engagement strategies (such as serious games and BioArtBlitz events), aiming to involve the wider community in addressing IAS challenges. GuardIAS will also establish robust solutions for IAS management at multiple governance levels, from local to international. The project will include the development of beyond-the-state-of-the-art technologies and methodologies, such as nano-coatings for marine vessels to prevent IAS spread and eDNA approaches for efficient detection. Additionally, GuardIAS will conduct macroecological and biogeographic analyses to assess IAS risks under various future scenarios, including climate change. The project's comprehensive approach, encompassing science, technology, and community engagement, positions it as a key player in the EU's efforts to preserve biodiversity and protect ecosystems from the growing threat of invasive species. GuardIAS is not only a response to current environmental challenges but also a proactive step towards sustainable management and conservation of aquatic environments in Europe.

The educational curriculum seems to not successfully match with the 21st century skills requirements.In order to develop a student-centered learning environment, cover successfully the needs of a growing diverse population of students in China, India and Cambodia with a variety of multi-cultural, multi-linguistics and multi-ability needs and respond to the gap in skills set in the labour market and society, shortage of qualified teachers and poor level of student learning this proposal aims at modernizing the academic curricula, transferring knowledge and best practices on innovative and ICT-based teaching methodology on 21st skills acquisition from HEIs in Programme Countries to the HEIs of Partner Countries that will be benefited directly from this project. The results include 21st century skills teaching state-of-the-art report, a 21st century skills Educational Programme that will be incorporated in the academic program, capacity-building sessions for Faculty staff and development of 21stTeachSkills e-toolbox and learning Platform. Impact will be generated in institution-level, regional level through dissemination activities and networking and European level with the supprt of the EU-HEIs.