The recently updated Smart Specialisation Strategy of Cyprus highlights ‘drones and robots for inspections and repairs’ as well as the ‘design of small zero-emission vessels’ as areas where investments shall be directed and collaborations developed by Cypriot research organisations. At their crossroad, the topic of long-endurance robotic technologies applied to search and rescue (SAR) applications over large areas requires attention, especially for Cyprus, a southeastern Mediterranean nation whose economy largely depends on shipping and where the numbers of marine casualties and incidents signify a pressing challenge for maritime safety, biodiversity preservation and economic development. LORELEI-X aims at boosting the progress of the coordinating partner – CMMI, a H2020 Teaming Centre of excellence in marine and maritime research– towards scientific excellence and innovation leadership in marine robotics by deploying efficient and long-term capacity-building and networking activities with NTNU from Norway and DTU from Denmark whose reputations and track records are international. Beyond scientific skills, the activities will also reinforce administrative, dissemination, and innovation management competencies. CMMI will also benefit from connecting with the innovation ecosystems of DTU and NTNU that allow students, researchers, and faculty to quickly bootstrap entrepreneurial initiatives through start-up incubators. The R&I component will address structural vessel design, autonomous launch and recovery of marine vehicles, dynamic motion model calculation, fault-tolerant propulsion system and COLREGs informed, cyber-resilient marine navigation. It will result in the joint proof-of-concept and validation of a high-potential carrier marine vessel at TRL 5, capable of autonomously launching and recovering a small fleet of micro-Unmanned Underwater Vessels. Over 36 months, LORELEI-X will result in enhanced reputation, attractivity and skills for CMMI and its staff.

Over the last century and recent decades, the Eastern Mediterranean have warmed faster than most other inhabited regions. In the marine environment, marine heatwaves are known to result in dramatic loss of native species. Further, marine pollutants, like heavy metals and litter, are additional stressors which can be transported from sediment/water column and bio-accumulate in food webs with direct impact on aquatic organisms and humans. Effective management and policymaking are therefore required for the conservation of regional biota. However, Cyprus still lacks capacities and knowledge in the Environment sector, through prioritised in the recently updated Smart Specialisation Strategy for Cyprus. Thus, PUREEF-Y aims at enhancing the progress of the coordinating partner – CMMI, a H2020 Teaming Centre of excellence– towards scientific excellence and policymaking influence by deploying efficient and long-term capacity-building and networking activities with two internationally recognised advanced partners from Israel and Spain. The activities will go beyond the strictly scientific scope and support the mutual development, consolidation, and reinforcement of administrative, dissemination, networking and policy-making competencies. The progress achieved will be demonstrated via a joint research project during which partners will perform baseline assessments of the physicochemical parameters collected from coastal sediments and waters likely to be affected by climate change and ocean acidification; marine pollution levels in key sites around Cyprus, and the health status of key shallow water benthic and planktonic habitats. Over 3 years, PUREEF-Y will result in a long-term linkage between CMMI, UAB and IOLR who share the mission of better understanding past (paleo) and present ecological conditions and designing management plans for monitoring, conservation & restoration, and policy reforms for the future.

Technological areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ecosystems such as shipping, maritime and space have been strategically prioritised by Cyprus to improve its Research and Innovation (R&I) performance. At their intersection lies the need to enhance marine conservation efforts and maritime surveillance by leveraging deep learning (DL) methodologies built on standardized and robust data sets. Indeed, in-situ sampling stands as a cornerstone in marine conservation, offering a direct approach to monitoring marine biodiversity; while remote sensing stands as a pivotal addition to maritime surveillance, expanding the scope beyond traditional Automatic Identification System capabilities. DL, as a cutting-edge AI tool, holds immense potential to enhance the analysis of in-situ samples and remotely sensed data. AXOLOTL is proposed as a transformational international endeavour capable of enhancing the R&I capacity of CMMI, Cyprus and Europe in the interdisciplinary fields of DL-enhanced in-situ biodiversity assessment and DL-enhanced remote sensing for maritime surveillance. The project will contribute to closing the gap between a H2020 Teaming Centre of excellence and 2 strong innovators from France and Belgium through capacity-building, knowledge transfer, networking, and outreach activities at regional and international levels. Activities will go beyond the strictly scientific scope and support the mutual development, consolidation, and reinforcement of administrative, dissemination and entrepreneurial competencies, access to networks of excellence and the sustainable linkage between partners. The project’s R&I component will develop new strategies for improving data quality, standardization, and synchronization issues, devise novel interdisciplinary methodologies, develop robust DL models from state-of-the-art computer vision methods, and validate its proposed solutions in 2 relevant real-world contexts (biodiversity assessment and maritime surveillance).

Mr.Goodfish3.0 builds on an existing application developed with stakeholder input from the seafood value chain to promote sustainable seafood consumption. It aims to upgrade and employ the app within an EU-wide awareness campaign. The app will be part of an ecosystem of tools and activities to be co-created by stakeholders in three pilot sites and upscaled in two replication sites in Europe to raise awareness for responsible consumption of sea, freshwater and aquaculture products. Co-creation will inform content development, enriching scientific input with socio-cultural and economic considerations and engaging stakeholders throughout the seafood value chain. The upgraded app will offer outputs such as individualised decision trees, information about health benefits, tips and tricks to fight food waste, recipes, and good practices. It will be available in all EU official languages, and it will take into account all major EU sea basins and inland waters. The awareness campaign will involve social and traditional media, a package of material and activities, and a call for multipliers with a local focus via our pilot and replication sites, as well as EU-wide dissemination activities. The campaign will relate to other European initiatives such as #TasteTheOcea and it will engage adults and the youth via educational activities for promoting the app as a guiding light for consumption behaviour change. The existing labelling process will be upscaled to display European providers of sustainable seafood and support the sustainability of the business model of Mr.Goodfish3.0. Consortium partners display a mix of science centres/aquariums and communicators, research institutions, and European-wide organizations. Their expertise and networks in terms of scientific input and content development, co-creation processes, app development, design and implementation of outreach campaigns and science engagement will be fully exploited to promote sustainable seafood consumption.

In line with the objectives of “Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030” and the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, PartArt4OW aims to (1) strengthen the emotional attachment between society and the oceans and waters; (2) raise awareness of challenges these face; (3) develop a strong transdisciplinary and trans-European network of artistic and creative communities to protect and restore oceans and inland water; (3) support policymakers in working towards sustainable ocean and water policies. To this end, PartArt4OW focuses on participatory art and creative processes on the belief that participation can bring about a deeper engagement of people with the problem of ocean and water health by performing arts themselves. Building upon the belief that art and the creative sector can contribute to the EU Mission Starfish 2030 priorities, PartArt4Ocean mobilises artists, citizens and other stakeholders in realising 20 multi-stakeholder Participatory Art Initiatives (PAIs). All modes of artistic expression and synergies with EU-funded projects are welcome. Selected PAIs receive physical resources, human capital (training, experience, mentorship, relationships and feedback) and organisational capital (structure, planning, monitoring, and internal relationships) through a PartArt4OW Accelerator Program. To support PAIs, PartArt4OW also organises stakeholder engagement and ecosystem-building activities, including Ambassadors Network engaged in mutual learning exercise and the operationalization of ParArt Sailing Lab equipped with sustainable sailing and artistic production facilities on board to visit and connect creative communities engaged in PAIs. Matchmaking events and PartArt Festivals bootstrap the possibilities of artistic communities and creative sector stakeholders to significantly contribute to citizens' connection with the ocean and the waters.