Strengthening Europe – Latin America Cooperation in the Energy Transition

Online

In the EULAC EnergyTRAN Horizon Europe Project framework, the virtual thematic event on technology and energy transition, scheduled for the 26th and 27th of June 2024, aims to bolster cooperation between Europe and Latin America by exploring innovative technologies policies and practices. Organised by the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), the event will open with introductory presentations from the EU-Solaris ERIC, the OEI, and the European Research Executive Agency (REA). It will feature panels addressing key topics such as the exchange of scientific knowledge, challenges and opportunities in the energy sector, and the environmental and social impacts of energy transition.

Experts from both regions will discuss alternative energy sources, regulatory challenges, and innovative technological solutions like green hydrogen production and solar thermal energy applications. The event will also highlight the importance of international collaboration in advancing sustainable energy research and infrastructure, culminating in a session synthesising the discussions and outlining future steps for enhanced cooperation.

For more information please visit the OEI website: https://oei.int/oficinas/secretaria-general/eventos/fortaleciendo-la-cooperacion-europa-america-latina-en-la-transicion-energetica

To register, please fill out this form:

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=RCDnxlDvVUG4M1R-c13Lgjw00Q45XEtImjIDUep7g79UMUpBQzVUWlI4VEowNVBOSUNZN0RJSE43Ri4u

Agenda

ALL-READY Workshop – Accelerating the Agroecology Transition

ALL-Ready

Seville, Spain / online, 11 May 2023.

The upcoming 2nd ALL-READY Project Workshop, entitled “Accelerating the Agroecology Transition: Your potential role and benefits of contributing to a European Network of Living Labs and Research Infrastructures.”

 This interactive discussion session will take place on 11 May 2023, at the LifeWatch ERIC ICT-Core premises in Seville, Spain, and will also be available online as a hybrid event.

More information in our news item.

34th ECS Conference

34th ECS Conference

Galicia, Spain, 18–20 April 2023.

LifeWatch ERIC will be sponsoring the 34th Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society at O Grove, Galicia, Spain from 18–20 April 2023.

Conference Programme includes 2 days of workshops on 16–17 April before the 3 days of plenary sessions.

The 34th ECS Conference in O Grove 2023 will be conducted in the traditional in-person format and all oral and poster presenters will be required to attend the meeting in person. In addition, all scientific communications will be made available digitally after the conference. This will be a great opportunity to reconnect in person after the pandemic years and talk about marine mammals, science, conservation, discuss research, meet colleagues, have fun and make friends. 

To register for the ECS conference, please login first or create a personal profile.

Abstract submission is now closed.

The theme of the conference is

OUR OCEANS, OUR FUTURE

Marine Mammal Behavioural Ecology & The Sustainable Use of Marine Resources

When talking about sustainability and fair use of marine resources, it is inevitable to address and recognize the importance of a better understanding of the ecology and behaviour of marine mammals and their environment. Like marine mammals, many human communities depend directly or indirectly on marine ecosystems and their biodiversity for their livelihoods. This is the case in Galicia, where fishing and aquaculture are among the most representative economic activities associated with the use of marine resources. Effective management of marine biodiversity conservation is based on science. Likewise, the conservation of marine mammals represents a fundamental field of action to guarantee the balance of marine ecosystems. 

Therefore, under this theme, we are inviting the scientific community to submit any topic related to issues of marine mammal science and conservation.

Celebrating and calibrating Mediterranean forests

Mediterranean forests

The Mediterranean basin is the third-richest hotspot in the world in terms of plant biodiversity  and one of the greatest sources of endemic plants on Earth. Its plant diversity accounts for 25,000 plant species, 60% of which are endemic, of which more than 100 tree species are recorded in Mediterranean forests. It is estimated that the region has more than 25 million hectares of Mediterranean forests and about 50 million hectares of other Mediterranean wooded lands. The knowledge on Mediterranean forests is, however, fragmented.

To celebrate the importance of Mediterranean forest knowledge, ETC-UMA is pleased to announce the international workshop to take place in Malaga, Spain on 2 June 2023 addressing current policy, technologies and practices on Mediterranean forest data entitled “A knowledge baseline on Mediterranean forests supported by innovation”.

Co-organised by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Topic Centre on Spatial Analysis and Synthesis of the University of Malaga (ETC-UMA) in the frame of the ERDF-funded project EnBiC2-Lab for an Environmental and Biodiversity Climate Change Lab, this event on Mediterranean Forests and innovation aims to bring together a community of EU and Mediterranean key players to address the status of regional political and research agendas in support of forests.

The regional efforts of European projects in paving the way towards raising awareness and providing tools and solutions to consider in the post-2020 plans in the Mediterranean region will be part of the debate to ensure better protection and management of these sensitive key ecosystems, including a look into financing instruments needed for their future long-term sustainable restoration and conservation.

Check out some of the latest knowledge generated by ETC-UMA colleagues on forest types and maps:

We would be happy to welcome you to Malaga on 2 June 2023. If you are interested in attending the international workshop, please contact Virginia García.

EU LAC ResInfra – Kick-out Meeting 

EU LAC RESINFRA kick-out meeting

Madrid, Spain, 27–28 February 2023.

The EU LAC ResInfra project Kick-out Meeting will take place in Madrid at the end of February. The project consortium will discuss and analyse project progress and updates, and in particular, LifeWatch ERIC will present its final conclusions and recommendations to the Sustainability Plan as part of WP4. Future actions will also be decided.

Visit the project website.

Small Satellites & Services International Forum

Satellite forum

Malaga, Spain, 21–23 February 2023.

The SMALL SATELLITES & SERVICES INTERNATIONAL FORUM is a workshop for small satellite designers, technicians, developers and launchers. The forum provides the perfect opportunity for experience and knowledge sharing of current and cutting-edge space and small satellite technologies. Over the course of three days the forum will present panels and sessions that will provide answers and insights from the experts, by examining evolving technologies and industry trends that can impact small satellites.

Jaime Lobo, LifeWatch ERIC Satellite & HAPS Operations Manager, will participate on Wednesday 22 February at 2:30 pm in the panel ‘Satellite Constellation & International Cooperation’, as coordinator of the operation of the AGAPA1 satellite. The AGAPA1 satellite has been commissioned by the Andalusian Agricultural and Fisheries Management Agency (AGAPA), along with the Junta de Andalucía, in the framework of the SmartFood project, which is one of the projects led by LifeWatch ERIC. It will monitor the effects of farming on the territory and its natural resources, to underpin future policies on preserving the environment and enabling sustainable farming in the Andalusian region. Now that the satellite has passed its Critical Design Review milestone, it will start assembly and readiness tests, which upon passing will allow it to launch in 2023 on a Falcon 9 from SpaceX (United States). The new AGAPA1 satellite will combine EO technologies with an IoT, radio which can communicate with sensors on the ground that are performing activities such as monitoring soil moisture or crops water content. The IoT radio can then take this information and make automatic decisions based on pre-agreed metrics, such as commanding the sensor to alter the percentage of water in the soil by watering it. This edge computing takes place in real-time, removing the process of manual decision-making on the ground, and could have significant impacts on agricultural territory management on a large scale.

Combining EO data with IoT increases the effectiveness of small satellites by making sense of the huge reams of data produced by the satellite and making it more actionable. The AGAPA1 satellite is planned to be part of OpenConstellation, a global shared satellite infrastructure built and managed by Open Cosmos, which encourages countries, institutions and companies to contribute their own satellites, which will create the world’s biggest mutualised constellation.

LifeWatch ERIC BEeS Biodiversity and Ecosystem eScience Conference

Bees Conference

Seville, Spain, 22–24 May 2023.

This Biodiversity Day, don’t miss out on the LifeWatch ERIC BEes Biodiversity and Ecosystem eScience Conference “Threats and challenges to biodiversity and ecosystem conservation from an eScience perspective”.

Submit your abstracts until 30 April on the following topics: major threats to the Earth’s biodiversity and ecosystem health, Macroecological and biogeographical approaches to biodiversity conservation, Ecosystem and habitat mapping, Animal biology and behavioral traits, “System of systems” biodiversity observation, Biodiversity and ecosystem responses to climate change, and finally, Natural capital and the “One Health” approach. There will also be a round table on the theme of World Biodiversity Day, moderated by LifeWatch ERIC and keynote speakers.

Visit the conference minisite to sign up and/or submit your abstract.

Transfiere 2023

Transfiere 2023

Malaga, Spain, 15–17 February 2023.

Transfiere, the European Meeting on Science, Technology and Innovation, will be taking place at the FYCMA – Trade Fairs and Congress Center of Málaga, Avda Ortega y Gasset, 201, 29006, from 15–17 February 2023. It is a key professional and multisectorial forum for the transfer of knowledge, the improvement of competitiveness in the business sector and the generation of business and networking opportunities. Every year in Malaga, Transfiere becomes an unmissable event for Ecosystem Agents where they can establish new B2B contacts, network, find new partners, establish strategic alliances and synergies, as well as publicise new products, services and innovative projects.

LifeWatch ERIC will be represented at Transfiere 2023 by members of its ICT-Core & Federtech team, and will have a stand.

More information is availabe on the event website.

ICSOC20

ICSOC20

Seville, Spain, 29 November – 2 December 2022.

ICSOC20, the 20th edition of the International Conference on Service-Oriented Computing, is the premier international forum for academics, industry researchers, developers, and practitioners to report and share groundbreaking work in service-oriented computing. ICSOC fosters cross-community scientific excellence by gathering experts from various disciplines, such as services science, data science, management science, business-process management, distributed systems, wireless and mobile computing, cloud and edge computing, cyber-physical systems, Internet-of-Things (IoT), scientific workflows, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and services and software engineering.

This congress provides a high-quality forum for presenting results and discussing ideas that further knowledge and understanding of the various aspects (e.g. application and system aspects) related to Service Computing with particular focus on artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data analytics, IoT, and emerging technologies including quantum computing.

LifeWatch ERIC is one of the main sponsors and will give two presentations at the 20th edition of this event: ICSOC20.

30 November

Antonio José Sáenz-Albanés, ICT-Core Operations Coordinator at LifeWatch ERIC, will do a presentation on ‘LifeWatch ERIC distributed e-infrastructure, challenges and goals’.

2 December

Juan Miguel González-Aranda, LifeWatch ERIC CTO and head of LifeWatch Spain, will participate in a session in collaboration with the Digital Agency of Andalusia and will talk about ‘LifeWatch ERIC, an Open e-Science & Data Service Oriented distributed panEuropean Research Core Infrastructure: AstarteWatch, from Andalusia to the rest of the World’.