AGEO project survey – Copernicus for geohazard risk reduction

The AGEO project, under its work programme, has developed a short survey to assess the use of Copernicus data for geohazard risk reduction in the Atlantic Area. Using Copernicus data to better prepare communities for geohazards, therefore reducing risks to human lives, is one of the goals of the project, and all input received is welcome.

This questionnaire aims to analyse the use of Copernicus products and services among geohazard risk reduction stakeholders in the Atlantic Area. The Platform for Atlantic Geohazard Risk Management (AGEO) is a new project co-financed under the Interreg Programme for the Atlantic Area, which aims to launch several Citizens’ Observatory pilots on geohazards according to regional priorities. These will demonstrate how citizens’ involvement in geohazard risks prevention can strengthen regional and national risk management systems.

ROBOMINERS/UNEXMIN Joint Workshop, Amsterdam

Luís Lopes, responsible for Communication and dissemination in UNEXMIN and for Roadmapping in ROBOMINERS, went from the LPRC side to a joint workshop that brough together three projects to discuss and share ideas on development. PIPEBOTS joined the two above mentioned projects.

Talks and discussions on robotics-related topics made the core of the debate. The specific areas of discussion worked around: 1) Robotics, 2) Sensing, 3) SLAM/Navigation and 4) Communications.

LPRC took this opportunity to give a first step in the ROBOMINERS roadmapping process. One of the main tasks of roadmapping is to create clusters with other ongoing projects. This was achieved by sharing information on ROBOMINERS and collecting information on the other two projects. A follow-up will be next step and the aim is to share information on common challenges and possible approaches.

MacaroNight 2019 – Researchers Night of the Macaronesia

On the 27th of September 2019 the Macaronesia, represented by the islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria (Canary Islands), Madeira, São Miguel (Azores) and São Vicente (Cape Verde), saw their streets taken over by researchers for the second time in this last edition of MacaroNight, following the success of last year’s event.

The coordinator of the “Night” is La Palma Research Centre, with a consortium that includes partners from three countries: Universidad de La Laguna, Fundo Regional para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Fundación Canaria del Parque Científico Técnico de Las Palmas, Universidade da Madeira and Instituto Astrofísico de Canarias. And for this year, the Universidade do Mindelo, from Cape Verde, has joined MacaroNight for the first time.

For the 2019 edition, it is estimated that almost 7000 people were present in the various Nights, with over 300 researchers presenting their work on the Macaronesia during one day and night to different publics, including children and men alike.

MacaroNight is a Marie Curie Researcher’s Night two-year project, aiming to dispel stereotypes about researchers and raise awareness to the importance of science in the Macaronesia. A final objective is to encourage the next generation of Macaronesian researchers to take up a career in STEM – Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics. Also, the project has been awarded the European Year of Cultural Heritage stamp, thanks to its numerous activities highlighting the Macaronesian common heritage.

LPRC presented at Congress for Social Communication of Science, Burgos

LPRC presented three posters and one oral presentation in the Congress for Social Communication of Science in the University of Burgos organized by AECC (Spanish Science Communication Association) on the 10th and 11th of October.

The two-day congress included roundtables, lectures, comedy stand-ups and a scientific social program focused on three main themes:

  • Receivers of science communication.
  • Strategies for science communication.
  • Channels for science communication.

These teams are very much inline with LPRC’s line of work and, therefore, this was a perfect place for LPRC to present its work and get connected to other stakeholders and interested parties within the same field.

LPRC presented two ongoing projects, MacaroNight and AGEO, and one upcoming one, ENGIE, each having a dedicated poster. The MacaroNight project’s poster and communication were enclosed in the “Receivers of science communication” theme, and were titled “Communicating science for islanders”, where the importance of the regional focus of MacaroNight was stressed. MacaroNight gathers parties from the archipelagos of Canarias, Madeira, Açores and Cape Verde.

AGEO targeted the way Citizen Observatories create a new channel to reach general society by making them part of the actual research and how the Interreg Atlantic Area funded would achieve this goal, while ENGIE tackles the strategies to close the gender gap in geo-sciences.

UNEXMIN Final Project Meeting, Brussels

LPRC participated at the final UNEXMIN Project Meeting, held in Brussels, on the 25th of September. This meeting was scheduled one month before the end of the project, so the team has the time to finalise details and wrap-up results and outcomes of this success story, which LPRC helped to build.

To the one-day final project meeting call the consortium answered with a total of 40 participants from all the 12 partner representatives. The morning sessions were dedicated to present the current state of the project as well as to what the future holds for UNEXMIN, but most importantly for the UX-1 unique technology. For the latter, there are already good news: a joint company was created to exploit the project’s technology – meet UNEXMIN GeoRobotics!

During the afternoon two different meetings were held: one Advisory Board meeting and a Steering Committee meeting. In both councils the discussions worked mostly around the future exploitation possibilities for the UNEXMIN technology and how the project itself is seen as a success story in the raw materials and robotics panorama.

The UNEXMIN project officially ends on the 31st of October, but there is still a lot to do. Wrapping-up results, finalising reports and documents and prepare the future are just some of the tasks ahead for this month.

LPRC is very happy and grateful to be part of such an interesting project and consortium, having contributed to different relevant aspects such as communication & dissemination, technology roadmapping and future exploitation.