Project summary. The ICT sector is growing rapidly and constantly evolving, creating a strong need for new skills and innovation. However, according to the OECD, current VET programmes often struggle to keep up with these changes and do not always provide students with the skills and opportunities they need to succeed in ICT jobs in industry. The fourth and fifth industrial revolutions are key drivers of the changing role of VET, as they are shaping the content and form of new jobs, skills and occupational requirements. “INVESTech aims to promote the innovation potential of VET in participating countries by fostering cooperation between education, labour market and other stakeholders; facilitating skills development and the use of innovative technologies; promoting green transition and social inclusion; and providing opportunities for transnational cooperation and the exchange of best practices, thus ensuring that VET can play a key role in supporting innovation, skills development, green transformation and social inclusion.

Goals. The aim of the project is to support the creation of an international cooperation platform and the development of Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in five European countries: Slovakia, Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Lithuania.

About the project. A two-year project that aims to create a network of Regenerative Ocean Farming (ROF) initiatives.

Expected results: The project will assess the interest and feasibility of establishing new RAO sites through multi-stakeholder co-assessment workshops, while developing six ongoing collaboration frameworks (key deliverables ) to create favorable conditions for regenerative ocean farming, including measures to monitor regenerative ocean impacts on farms in Baltic water ecosystems. The project will consist of eight exploitation events in participating Baltic Sea region countries to initiate a public international movement to engage coastal communities in ecological restoration and regenerative ocean farming initiatives.

Application/Relevance: COOL BLUE BALTIC will provide concrete examples of ecosystem restoration, viable business models and social innovation to reorient future fishermen and/or farmers to diversify their income through regenerative aquaculture (i.e. regenerative ocean farming).

About the project. Small and medium-sized ports (SMSPs) contribute to regional development, being a regional capacity and main actor of Blue Growth with a high potential to enhance regional growth through strong and sustainable connections with the hinterland. However, SMSPs tend to suffer from lower trade volumes and freight turnovers compared to bigger seaports, but also face economic, geographic, and environmental disadvantages. Moreover, SMSPs are highly underrepresented when it comes to EU Smart Growth as well as Regional Innovation Strategies on Smart Specialisation (RIS3).

Nevertheless, the term Smart Ports is increasingly used in economic and scientific debates without a unified definition for what a smart port actually is. Whereas one stream argues a smart port needs to be fully automated, the focus on SMSPs reveals smart ports being surely digital, but also resource-efficient, environmentally friendly and innovation-driven.

Standardised solutions or technologies are not working in the majority of SMSPs of the South Baltic Area, as requirements and conditions at the port sites are highly individual and partly unique. There are no one-size-fits-all solutions for SMSPs. Thus, it is necessary to develop a Smart Port Strategy particular for SMSPs, which can be adapted to individual requirements and provides the most applicable innovations, being digital, environmental-friendly, socially beneficial and economic – or in one word: smart.

The envisaged project is in line with SO1.2. and requires the seed money funding to set up the Smart Port Strategy for SMSPs as a validated concept for further project development.

Estimation, monitoring and reduction of plastic pollutants in Latvian-Lithuanian coastal area via innovative tools and awareness raising (ESMIC).

Project aimed to develop a sustainable, cost-effective framework for plastic litter detection, monitoring and management in marine and coastal environments. Absence of physical coastal borders between Latvia and Lithuania means that actions taken in one country might affect the other. Plastic that accumulates in algal wracks on the shore or in algal scum might be a target area for plastic pollution estimation and mitigation measures. The project aimed to link remotely sensed features (Earth observation from space and drones) with marine plastic litter in such areas and suggest a joint and efficient approach for monitoring and management, which can be used by municipalities or national authorities in Lithuania and Latvia.

Moreover, in relation with a single-use plastic ban from the year 2021 project aimed to screen alternatives to replace single-use plastic, assess environmental, social and economical impact of marine litter pollution and its reduction, engage consumers, retailers, local municipalities, industry representatives, residents, environmental groups and tourism associations – to ensure broad support of a ban of single plastic use in coastal areas.

Project outputs:

• • Framework to improve and integrate plastic litter monitoring and management solutions in natural territories:
    • • Overview of the Project activities;
      • Methodology for fast screening of with plastic associated pathogenic microorganisms;
      • Report on the pathogenic organisms associated with plastic pollutants.
  • Guidelines for cost-effective estimation, monitoring and reduction measures of plastic litter and its associated hazards from coastal and marine environment:
    • • Report on assessment testing results;
      • Implementation guideline of plastic litter monitoring and management related to algal wracks/scums.
  • Developed and improved joint cooperation for clean environment by engaging the stakeholders:
    • • Overview of the Project activities;
      • Model action plan for marine litter mitigation.

About the project. Ports serve as economic backbones of BSR regions. At the same time, emissions from freight transport and port activities contribute highly to pollution. Even though emissions have many different sources, a major share is linked to port activities and transport chains. Port authorities (PA) are only responsible for a fraction of those activities, but nevertheless are an important player when it comes to the implementation of emission reduction measures. Their limited knowledge which role they could take to influence emission reduction and unsatisfactory cooperation hinder the implementation of effective greening measures, though.

BSC will provide a three-pillar approach on how PAs can support greening process in port operation (electrification of handling equipment), by providing alternative fuels (bunkering & charging strategy) and by pushing to set-up green transport chains (combined transport). Solutions will be jointly developed, tested in selected ports, evaluated, adjusted & transferred to other ports. Cooperation with research, private enterprises & business support organisations ensures the involvement of end users, high practicability of results & market uptakes in the long run. Umbrella organisations as Baltic Ports Organisation support the process. National Ministries (as PPs & AOs) will use the solutions to adopt their national emission reduction plans & by that creating the framework conditions for PAs to play an appropriate role in the greening process.  

Project summary. In the project TETRAS (Technology transfer for thriving recirculating aquaculture systems in the Baltic Sea Region), public authorities trigger fish and shrimp farming on land, which reuses water from industries related to energy production and geothermal resources.
TETRAS aims to improve the economic and environmental sustainability of RAS by demonstrating how these systems can be placed strategically or combined with industrial processes to increase resource use efficiency while producing affordable and healthy food.
One process’s waste or residual is another process’s resource.

The TETRAS project addresses a challenge common to regions across the Baltic Sea Region: how to harmonise economic development with social and environmetal goals. Much of the excess water or energy used in industry is lost to the environment. What if we could capture these resources and use them for food production? Specifically, how can we use water in a smart way that balances the needs of industry with state-of-the-art food production systems? The solution is RAS: Recirculating Aquaculture Systems. On its own, RAS are expensive and energy-intensive. However, as industrial “add-ons”, RAS can be highly efficient methods of food production. For example, in combination with geothermal heat exchange, water re-use (e.g. so-called “technical” water) or agri-aqua symbioses like aquaponics. Besides food, RAS creates additional revenue streams, e.g. by-products for use in cosmetics, bioplastics, fertiliser, or biogas.

TETRAS will show how RAS can be placed in strategic geographic locations, or combined with industrial processes to increase efficiency, while producing affordable, healthy food. The partnership will co-develop regional pilots and standardised tools for municipalities to assess and monitor RAS applications and match them with suitable industries. These tools will allow public authorities to integrate RAS into regional development strategies, contributing to both sustainable waters and the transition to a circular economy in a win-win scenario.