In the last months, the partners of MARMED Project have organized a set of free online national workshops dedicated to the empowerment of Maritime Cluster Managers operating in the Mediterranean area.
The workshops represent a great opportunity to present and promote the project and the outputs reached so far, while focusing and discussing on the role of Cluster Managers for the sustainable growth and innovation in the Blue Economy sector.
The Italian Partners – ForMare – Polo Nazionale per lo Shipping, Cluster BIG – Blue Italian Growth and OGS – organized the first online workshop the 13th December 2023, and it aimed to provide an overview of the main Cluster Management tools serving clusters belonging to the Mediterranean Blue Economy ecosystem. The workshop, that saw the participation of more than 40 experts operating in the Blue Economy Sectors, including several regional and national clusters, represented a good opportunity to engage in a fruitful debate during which several participants expressed their interest in MARMED initiative and in the training project aimed at adapting the skills of Maritime Cluster Managers in order to respond to emerging capacity building needs at the European and international level, helping to increase the level of innovation and define a new highly qualified professional profile in the Blue Economy sector, as well as contributing to the improvement of job opportunities and career development in the sector.
The Greek Partners – Metropolitan College and Strategis – organized the online workshop the 14th December 2023, presenting MARMED project and providing a practical case of Clusters role, based on the experience of Strategis as Greek Maritime Cluster. In the frame of the project, it has been analyzed the philosophy behind the establishment of a Cluster, its particular role and significance in Greece, a State where Blue Economy sector plays a fundamental role. Moreover, they have been discussing also the skills that the Maritime Cluster Managers should have to perform their work efficiently. The workshop achieved a great success at national level.
The Portuguese Partner, Forum Oceano, held the online workshop the 19th December 2023, addressing the importance of identifying and improving the skills and tools necessary for Maritime Cluster Managers and the actors operating in the Blue Economy Sector. The webinar, that saw the participation of more than 40 experts operating in the sector, provided the opportunity to engage in a thought-provoking roundtable discussion, aimed at fostering skills in the Blue Economy sector. It emerged that the blue economy sector is indeed increasingly crucial to reach sustainability objectives and it significantly contributes to the European economy. In this context, it is evident the role of Maritime Clusters as active facilitators of matchmaking and creation of synergies among their stakeholders at both national and international levels.
The Maltese Partner, Maritime MT, held the online workshop the 10th January 2024 with the participation of 30 experts operating in the blue economy sector. During the workshop, it was highlighted that the Maltese Maritime Community is responsive and willing to participate. There seems to be a more coherent National awareness that the Maritime Sector needs more investment; not only in terms of financial investments but also in terms of human resources and intellectual capital.
The workshops were a great success and represented a great opportunity to raise awareness on the role of Maritime Clusters at national and Mediterranean level for the sustainable development of Blue Economy sector.