European exchange on transfer projects in marine research in Kiel

Until April 27, the second Transformation Lab under the umbrella of reSEArch-EU, an initiative of "The European University of the Seas – SEA-EU", will take place at the Kiel University. The format among researchers of the European consortium, for which numerous scientists from Brest (France), Gdansk (Poland), Split (Croatia), Malta and Cadiz (Spain) travelled to Kiel, aims to highlight successful examples of networking between scientists and local stakeholders in Europe and to strengthen transdisciplinary research at the participating universities of reSEArch-EU.

Europe's coasts are heavily used. Fishing, tourism and infrastructure construction do not only affect our own coasts on the North Sea and Baltic Sea. In most European countries, researchers face the challenge of working with non-academic partners to develop solutions for sustainable use. The Transformation Lab therefore focuses on European regional and transdisciplinary projects in which marine researchers work together in close exchange with those responsible in industry, NGOs or individual user groups such as fishermen.

"At Kiel University, research with non-academic partners is a crucial part of our agenda. The exchange on successful projects of transdisciplinary cooperation is therefore of high importance to us - especially in the context of our SEA-EU consortium," says Professor Eckhard Quandt, Vice President of Kiel University, who welcomed the 15-member delegation today (April 25).

"Through the Transformation Lab, we can benefit from the experiences of our partner countries."

In the three-day stay, the participants will learn about different projects from marine research with and for society. These include "Bioeconomy on Marine Sites" (BaMS), an innovation space in northern Germany coordinated by Kiel University to strengthen aquaculture and blue circular projects, or CAPTN, the "Clean Autonomous Public Transport Network" aiming to establish an autonomous and sustainable mobility chain on water and on land. Further, the delegation will travel to the North Sea to the Research and Technology Center West Coast (FTZ) of Kiel University, where projects with the Wadden Sea National Park will be presented. On the Baltic Sea, the delegation will meet with fishermen in Eckernförde and visit the Ostsee Info Center (OIC). Other stops include the Kiel Science Factory, a laboratory for pupil at Kiel University, and the Stohl Cliffs near Kiel.

"On Europe's coasts, we are facing similar challenges to use them sustainably and protect them at the same time. In so called living labs, we are testing possible solutions with the groups affected by the changes, for example in fisheries, coastal protection or infrastructure construction. Our European neighbors are working in a similar way. Through the Transformation Lab, we can benefit from the experiences of our partner countries," says Dr. Christian Wagner-Ahlfs, coordinator for transdisciplinary research of the Kiel Marine Science (KMS) priority reasearch area at Kiel University.

The Transformation Lab event in Kiel 2023 is part of a reSEArch-EU cooperation organized by the universities of Kiel and Brest. A first event took place in April 2022 in Brest, France, with participants from all six reSEArch-EU universities. The Transformation Lab aims to support the development of ideas to improve the resilience of coastal areas. In workshops, researchers and stakeholders will work together to generate ideas and solutions to site-specific problems.