LifeWatch Belgium launches citizen science initiative

Belgium

On Saturday 22 March 2025, nature and science lovers in Belgium will gather on the Belgian Coast for the 8th edition of the “Big Seashell Survey” to help researchers gain a deeper understanding of the Belgian North Sea. 

Thanks to the initiative, scientists will gather valuable insights into the distribution of marine life, the impact of climate change on biodiversity, and the presence of non-native species. To do that, they will explore differences in the shell composition of more than 400 kilometers of the North Sea coastline from morning to afternoon.

Enthusiastic shell experts will be present at various coastal locations to provide necessary instructions and materials. No prior registration is required: participants can simply join at their preferred location.

For more information, visit: https://www.lifewatch.be/event/big-seashell-survey

Launch of EVERSE Network of Research Software Quality

EVERSE Network launch

Online

The EVERSE Network aims to develop a quality framework for research software. The EVERSE (EU-funded project) vision is to establish a Community of Practice to provide standard and documented practices around tools and training for software developers, researchers who code, research software engineers and service providers.

The project announces the EVERSE Network for Research Software Quality Launch Event, taking place online at 10:00 CET on Tuesday 18 February.

The overall goal is to improve policy and practice of research software in Europe and beyond, with opportunities for participants to contribute with their own inputs into the objectives and activities of the network.

They will benefit of practical support in writing better code and by learning the meaning and principles of software quality for the research domain.

Registrations are open at https://indico.cern.ch/e/eversenetworklaunch.

22nd Italian Ornithology Conference

Lecce, Italy

CISO (Centro Italiano Studi Ornitologici), University of Salento and the Institute of Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems of the National Research Council (CNR-IRET), LifeWatch Italy and Or.Me. organise the 22nd Italian Ornithology Conference. The conference will gather ornithologists and natural science enthusiasts together in Lecce, a first edition for the Apulia region in more than 40-year history of ornithology conferences.

Participants are invited to submit proposals for congress, which will take place from 8 to 12 September 2025.

The conference offers a selected range of topics for which abstracts for oral presentations and posters can be submitted. We aim at collecting contributions exploring the avifauna of the arid-steppe environments of the Mediterranean, global changes and emerging trends, bird migration, conservation, ecology and behaviour of birds, etc.
For further information, please have a look at their detailed description before submitting an abstract (SESSION TOPICS & SYMPOSIA TOPICS)

More details here: https://www.lifewatchitaly.eu/en/22-convegno-italiano-di-ornitologia

FAIR Training second edition

FAIR Data Training

Ostend, Belgium

EMBRC Belgian partners (VLIZ and the University of Ghent) are organising the second edition of a three-day training course on FAIR data. The course is especially relevant for marine scientists, biodiversity scientists and laboratory technicians that are interested in enhancing their skills in managing research data and applying FAIR principles to them.

The course details are available here: https://www.embrc.eu/newsroom/events/fair-training-2nd-edition-how-embrc-helping-researchers-make-most-their-data

BioDT School and Hackathon

BioDT School and Hackathon

Lecce, Italy

The BioDT School and Hackathon, to take place from March 3-7, 2025 in Lecce, Italy, is a unique event designed for students, early-career researchers, and professionals interested in unlocking skills in digital modelling, and interested in latest innovation practices in biodiversity. It is the perfect opportunity to engage with leading experts and learn how digital twins are developed.

This five-day event offers four days of intensive learning followed by a one-day Hackathon. Participants will dive deep into the BioDT project (https://www.lifewatch.eu/biodt) and gain hands-on experience in developing Digital Twins.

For the complete agenda, and registration details, visit: https://biodt.eu/events/bioDT-school-hackathon

ANERIS Second Annual Meeting

ANERIS Second Annual Meeting

Seville, Spain

In occasion of the ANERIS Second Annual Meeting, the project consortium is meeting in Seville, Spain, hosted at LifeWatch ERIC’s premises in Plaza de España to evaluate the project progress, discuss the next steps and align on the ongoing activities.

ANERIS (https://www.lifewatch.eu/ANERIS) stands for “operAtional seNsing lifE technologies for maRIne ecosystemS”, and proposes a co-design framework to develop the next generation of scientific instrumentation tools and methods for sensing marine-life (with the approach of Operational Marine Biology (OMB).

These results can benefit academia, industry, civil society and government; moreover, the consortium will develop a training program for the operation and use of these solutions, in particularly within the research infrastructures staff.

If you want to learn more about ANERIS developments, the project is also organising a workshop, split in two sessions, on “Underwater imaging, Bio-Optics, and Participatory technologies”, on 2nd and 4th December 2024.

This event is open to all researchers, technology developers, users, citizens and stakeholders from the broader scientific and technical community interested in advancing the field of marine science.

You can find more information here: https://www.lifewatch.eu/events/aneris-workshop-on-bioimaging or on the ANERIS website: https://aneris.eu

ANERIS Workshop on Underwater Imaging, Bio-optic and Participatory Technologies

ANERIS workshop

Online

After a very successful workshop on AI basics for image analysis, Euro-BioImaging and its nodes (France Bioimaging and Israel Bioimaging), are excited to announce the organisation of a new series of ANERIS workshop sessions on December 2nd and 4th, 2024, focused on Underwater imaging, Bio-Optics, and Participatory technologies developed within the ANERIS Project (https://www.lifewatch.eu/ANERIS).

Experts from Euro-Bioimaging, the University of Haifa, France-BioImaging, and members of the ANERIS consortium will lead participants through sessions exploring the various technologies and tools developed within the ANERIS project.

This event is open to all researchers, technology developers, users, citizens and stakeholders from the broader scientific and technical community interested in advancing the field of marine science.

 Visit Euro-BioImaging website for more information and the agenda: https://www.eurobioimaging.eu/events/aneris-workshop-2-underwater-imaging-bio-optic-and-participatory-technologies

Register here: https://embl-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJModeuhqj4qGNfM9Omc2plO1L8W-RcIGRKO#/registration

Marine SABRES Serious Game School Competition

serious game competition

Online

The “Serious Game” School Competition organised by the EU-funded project Marine Sabres, takes place this 21st November, on the same day of the World Fisheries Day.

A great chance for students and teachers, to learn or test their knowledge on basic concepts of marine biology and coastal ecology and to increase awareness of the relationship between humans and the ocean.

Registrations are accepted until the day of the event: click here to sign up for the competition.

Science Day 2024: Hight-T at Sea

ostend marine station event

Ostend, Belgium

The Marine Station Ostend of the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), will be open for visits on Sunday, 24 November 2024, in celebration of the Belgian Science Day 2024. This will be a unique opportunity for anyone interested in marine research, to explore the institution and even step aboard a marine research vessel.

The objective of the event, called “High-T at sea”, is to highlight the high-tech progress of marine research, with a dense agenda including highlights such as ocean digital twins, interactive digital experience labs, and activities for children, including building their own periscope.

LifeWatch Belgium will be present as well, to showcase cutting-edge technological innovations. Additionally, children will be able to participate in the WoRMS sea creature scavenger hunt. There’s something for everyone!

The full programme (in Dutch) is available here: https://www.vliz.be/en/events/science-day-2024-high-t-sea

Eleventh CoP online meeting: Technical Tools to improve the efficiency of RIs staff

technical tools

Online

Organised by the RitrainPlus consortium on 15 November (from 12:00 to 13:00), the event is part of a series of meetings dedicated to the project’s Community of Practice. The focus is be on research infrastructure staff, with Cristina Huertas-Olivares (International Initiatives & Projects Manager) and Joaquin Lopez Lerida (Data e-Science Management Plan & BlockChain Officer), both from the LifeWatch ERIC Statutory Seat and ICT-Core offices in Spain, moderating and presenting during the session. 

The goal of the meeting is to promote the efficiency of distributed Research Infrastructures, through highly practical activities: attendants are presented with a suite of digital tools to enhance their daily workflow.

The recording of the meeting is available on the Ritrain Plus dedicated page: https://ritrainplus.eu/2024/10/14/next-cop-online-meeting-technical-tools-to-improve-the-efficiency-of-ris-staff/