The €11.8M FP7 project AQUAEXCEL has delivered on its mission of developing an integrated approach to link and coordinate key research infrastructures for aquaculture across Europe
After four years of fruitful collaboration, the Framework Programme 7 project AQUAEXCEL (Aquaculture infrastructures for excellence in European fish research) has reached a successful conclusion, having fulfilled its objective of integrating key aquaculture research infrastructures across Europe, in order to promote their coordinated use and development.
It is hoped this will contribute to increased efficiency in aquaculture production and support European research activities in this area.
AQUAEXCEL’s integration of 17 partners and top class aquaculture research infrastructures in ten countries across Europe has resulted in a number of innovative and highly original research projects.
The fourth and final annual meeting of AQUAEXCEL took place in Benicàssim, Spain, earlier this month.
Marc Vandeputte, AQUAEXCEL Project Coordinator, said, “We are now at the end of the project, and this is the perfect time for analysing AQUAEXCEL’s impact on the individual, organisational, and scientific level, and to see how the project has contributed to the evolution of European Research Infrastructures and our approach to aquaculture science.”
AQUAEXCEL has enabled research groups to use the facilities of participating aquaculture research infrastructures to undertake experimental trials on a number of commercially important fish aquaculture species and system types. In total, 97 projects were grant funded over the course of the project.
At the final meeting, the AQUAEXCEL consortium considered options for future collaboration, strategic planning, and sustainability to ensure the legacy of the project and the continued impact of the results achieved.
“One of the major features of this project is its real multi-disciplinary approach, which broadens the landscape of the participating researchers. Certainly, we have started creating a community of aquaculture researchers,” said Vandeputte. “We really hope to further build and capitalise on this innovative and dedicated aquaculture research community, and to continue to support the development of the European aquaculture sector,” said Vandeputte.
It is hoped this will contribute to increased efficiency in aquaculture production and support European research activities in this area.
AQUAEXCEL’s integration of 17 partners and top class aquaculture research infrastructures in ten countries across Europe has resulted in a number of innovative and highly original research projects.
The fourth and final annual meeting of AQUAEXCEL took place in Benicàssim, Spain, earlier this month.
Marc Vandeputte, AQUAEXCEL Project Coordinator, said, “We are now at the end of the project, and this is the perfect time for analysing AQUAEXCEL’s impact on the individual, organisational, and scientific level, and to see how the project has contributed to the evolution of European Research Infrastructures and our approach to aquaculture science.”
AQUAEXCEL has enabled research groups to use the facilities of participating aquaculture research infrastructures to undertake experimental trials on a number of commercially important fish aquaculture species and system types. In total, 97 projects were grant funded over the course of the project.
At the final meeting, the AQUAEXCEL consortium considered options for future collaboration, strategic planning, and sustainability to ensure the legacy of the project and the continued impact of the results achieved.
“One of the major features of this project is its real multi-disciplinary approach, which broadens the landscape of the participating researchers. Certainly, we have started creating a community of aquaculture researchers,” said Vandeputte. “We really hope to further build and capitalise on this innovative and dedicated aquaculture research community, and to continue to support the development of the European aquaculture sector,” said Vandeputte.
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