On 13 October 2020, the 1st EOOS Technology Forum was organized by EuroGOOS through its Technology Plan Working Group and hosted by SeaTechWeek as a virtual event.
The Forum brought together 77 participants representing instrument manufacturers, technicians, technologists, and scientists across the public and private sectors from 11 European countries, the United States, Canada, and Argentina. Participants discussed the technological and operational aspects of ocean observing, exchanged knowledge and best practices, and explored new opportunities for collaboration. The event was divided into two 2-hour sessions which included key presentations and two interactive workshops.
Participants shared that the EOOS Technology Forum can help overcome fragmentation and facilitate collaboration by providing a permanent European platform for information exchange, building synergies, and creating a channel for enhanced visibility and accessibility. Launching a series of training sessions on ocean observing technologies under the aegis of EuroGOOS with the support of manufacturers was suggested. There was high interest in collaborative projects in the areas of sensor development, shared R&D, product improvement, development of services (e.g. calibration), and product testing. Several obstacles to fruitful collaboration were identified, including, among others, insufficient funding, poor networking, and technical barriers.
Possible ways and tools were discussed to improve the science-industry collaboration and outlined a number of key points on how the EOOS Technology Forum can help to:
- Identify current and future trends in technology, that will allow compliance with present and future ocean observational needs and requirements;
- Facilitate synergies between science and industry sectors in the field of ocean observing by promoting adequate instruments, e.g. an online tool enabling stakeholders to exchange information and identify matchmaking opportunities;
- Foster continuous dialogue and exchange between different stakeholders in the public and private sectors within the framework of a regularly held event;
- Develop shared strategies to jointly promote the value of ocean observing activities and technologies to policymakers, industry, and broader society.
The event’s summary, presentations and video recordings are available on the EOOS website.
