PORTWIMS was severely impacted by the COVID pandemic that prevented most travel over a 2 year period and the project was extended by 1 year.
The work performed was as follows:
WP1
- A KO meeting, Lisbon , progress meeting in Bremerhaven and final meeting in Plymouth were organized; a project steering group monitored progress and worked to mitigate effects of the pandemic on the project objectives
WP2
- 22 staff exchanges were held in person or virtually between FC.ID/FCUL and PML or AWI
- 32 Expert visits were organised with staff from PML or AWI visiting FC.ID/FCUL in person or virtually (with 11 associated with one-to-one mentoring and training on research vessels or at offsite training courses)
WP3
- Four summer schools were organized (one more than planned), with FC.ID/FCUL students & staff participating in intensive training and lecturing on: Copernicus marine data; Marine phytoplankton; Blue Growth & Innovation; and Advanced EO and Artificial Intelligence
- Two additional workshops organised on Ecosystem Services and on Impact
- 20 training exchanges were conducted of FC.ID/FCUL scientists visiting PML/AWI laboratories and/or prepare for participation in research cruises
- Participation of 5 FC.ID staff/students on three oceanographic cruises in the Atlantic: Atlantic-Meridional Transect, 2018 and 2019 and Polarstern, 2019.
WP4
- 17 proposals were submitted (well in excess of target of 4) for international funding, with 10 successful, bringing €684k new funding to FC.ID/FCUL including EC H2020 (3), ESA (3), EEA (1) and Eumetsat (1)
- 60 national (Portuguese) proposals submitted to FCT and national funding bodies with mixed success
- Involvement of FCUL in European international initiatives: Copernicus service evolution; Sentinel data exploitation and validation; core involvement in DANUBIUS-RI; and successful applications to Assemble+ and EuroFleets+
- successful proposal submission to the EEA (on Training for Employability and Technology in the Atlantic, TECATLANTIC) to set up a multidisciplinary integrated program of awareness, education and training to the different sectors of the blue economy
- 4 Collaboration agreements established with the business sector
WP5
- 58 papers were published that were supported by PORTWIMS (in excess of target)
- average impact factor (IF) of the publications increased from an average of 1.5-2 (before PORTWIMS) to 5, exceeding the initial IF target of 3
- 57 scientific conference attendances were undertaken (lower than the 75 expected primarily due to COVID)
WP6
- PORTWIMS activities were effectively communicated to the public through: the website (
https://www.portwims.org(s’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)) social media, newsletters, FCUL webpage, MARE centre webpage, and press releases.
