PBDH kick-off event

On 10 July 2024, the Portugal Blue Digital Hub (PBDH) made its official debut at the Digital With Purpose Global Summit 2024 held at the Estoril Congress Centre. The event featured a full house and was kicked off by the Project Leader, Carlos Pinho.

Carlos Pinho highlighted the project’s mission to invigorate innovation ecosystems and pave the way for a new generation of entrepreneurs to build a Blue Economy cluster in Portugal and the European Union.

Carlos Costa Pina, President of Fórum Oceano, followed the welcome message by emphasising that “the sustainable use of water, as well as the competitive management of the sea, requires technology and, in this context, PBDH is the project that responds to this challenge, but in a collaborative way based on a vast network of partners, from a holistic perspective capable of acting on the most diverse aspects and needs of the Blue Economy”.

The first panel, titled “Capacity Building, Training and Acceleration,” brought together experts from various sectors to explore strategies for enhancing skills, training, and acceleration in the Blue Economy. Among the speakers were Ana Filipa Costa from Beta-i, Isabel Moura Ramos from Porto de Lisboa, Lara Ramos from ISQ, Professor Mário Assunção from Escola Superior Náutica Infante D. Henrique, and Tiago Filipe Marques Innovation Consultant at  Beta-i.

A subsequent panel on “Development, Data, and Test Sites” featured discussions by Ana Paula Mucha from CIIMAR, André Barriguinha from NOVA IMS Information Management School, and Telmo Geraldes Dias from the Instituto Hidrográfico da Marinha Portuguesa. The panellists focused on the latest developments, data, and test sites critical for advancing innovation in the Blue Economy, as well as opportunities for academic involvement.

The final panel, “Investment and Funding,” saw experts including Carlos Pinho from Fórum Oceano and PBDH, Hugo Marques Sousa from Magellan Circle, Maurício Marques from Yacooba Labs, and Rodrigo Oliveira from Fórum Oceano, analysing funding and investment opportunities in the Blue Economy and the added value for start-ups, SMEs and public institutions.

The session was closed by Luís Guerreiro, President of IAPMEI, who congratulated the project, saying that the PBDH “is a crucial example of what we are good at in Portugal” and “of what we can achieve when we work together, when we bring together companies, technical institutes, universities and all the players”, because this is how you can “make ideas profitable and create wealth“.