Workshop in France with focus on entrepreneurial ecosystems, blue economy and sustainable innovation
Several researchers from the Centre on knowledge-intensive innovation ecosystems (U-GOT KIES) attended a workshop in France, focusing on Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, blue economy and sustainable innovation. One purpose of the workshop was to facilitate interdisciplinary research, including innovation and entrepreneurship as well as law and natural science. Another goal was to stimulate change, as the centre will, in addition to current research, move into studying selected creative and natural environment innovation ecosystems.
On September 26th and 27th, Linus Brunnström, Ethan Gifford, and Maureen McKelvey of U-GOT KIES took part in the workshop, which took place over two days in two different scenic locations: Campus Valrose at the University Côte d'Azur in Nice, France, and the Lerin Islands off the coast of Cannes, France. Along with our U-GOT KIES representatives, Lena Gipperth from the Center for Sea and Society at the University of Gothenburg, and Carl Dahlberg from Maritime Development in Bohuslän, were also in attendance. The workshop was organized by Professor Nathalie Lazaric and hosted by several French research groups – the Gredeg research institute, the ECOSEAS institute, and Federative Research Institute for Marine Resources.
Marine ecosystems and societal engagement
The first day consisted of conference presentations on a variety of topics, held in the scenic Campus Valrose. These ranged from: An overview of U. Côte d'Azur’s marine related activities and networks connected to European university initiatives; specific research projects targeting protection of marine ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea; as well as discussions of student-led incubator initiatives in Nice and Sophia Antipolis.
U-GOT KIES gave research presentations about sustainability and the blue economy focused around marine spatial planning dilemmas and in-depth case studies about Swedish marine research centres. These were followed by discussions about how the Swedish and French university systems have been successful in their third mission activities targeting societal engagement, especially concerning the marine and maritime sectors.
- The conference was a great opportunity for the Swedish and French research groups to get better acquainted, which hopeful will lead to some interesting cross-country research opportunities in the future, says Ethan Gifford, researcher within U-GOT KIES.
Time to explore marine environment and the local flora and fauna
On the second day, the participants travelled to one of the Saint Lerin Islands, Île Sainte-Marguerite, for a guided tour of the island and its marine environments. Presentations included PhD research on the island’s ecosystem and its challenges, as well as discussions of the maritime situation on Sweden’s west coast. Despite rather windy conditions, the group took advantage of the beautiful setting and did a bit of snorkelling around the island to explore the local flora and fauna, including the Sarpa salpa, a local herbivorous fish, and Cystoseira sensu lato, a protected species of brown algae native to the region.
