Will strengthen Europe's efforts in water, sea and maritime industries
On Tuesday, June 17, the European consortium One Water submitted its application to the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) to establish a new Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) in the water, marine and maritime (WMM) sectors. The aim is to strengthen Europe's innovation capacity, sustainability and competitiveness in the face of some of the most pressing challenges of our time: water scarcity and flooding, degradation of marine and freshwater ecosystems and the need for a circular blue economy.
The University of Bergen (UiB) and NTNU are among the partners in One Water, the consortium led by the University of Lisbon.
One Water
- Addressing the growing water crisis - and at the same time unlocking the economic potential of water-related sectors - requires a genuinely interdisciplinary approach. We need to explore synergies and cross-cutting solutions to promote development, resilience and prosperity," says Cecília Rodrigues, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation at the University of Lisbon, which is coordinating the One Water application.
- "The University of Bergen is proud to be part of the One Water collaboration, and of the extensive and targeted work that has gone into the application to the EIT. We see this as an important breakthrough - for UiB, for Norway and for Europe - in the work of promoting knowledge-based innovation and developing sustainable solutions to some of the most pressing global challenges of our time," says Margareth Hagen, Rector of UiB.
The EIT KICs are major European initiatives that connect education, research and business - the so-called knowledge triangle - to address societal challenges and develop new solutions and markets. One Water will build strong partnerships to foster cutting-edge research, accelerate innovation and commercialization, and train a future-ready workforce for water-related sectors in Europe.
