ROBOMINERS

ROBOMINERS Consortium Meeting with LPRC in Austria

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The ROBOMINERS Consortium, in which LPRC participates, hosted its first in-person meeting in almost 2 years. Between the 16 and 18 of November 2021, the partners were in Leoben (Austria) to discuss the evolution of the project. LPRC members Luís Lopes and Márcio Tameirão represented the company in this event. ROBOMINERS’ innovative approach combines the creation of a new mining ecosystem with novel ideas from other sectors, in particular with the inclusion of disruptive concepts from robotics.

The first day of the meeting started with the review and updates on the various Work Packages (WPs) of the project. During this session, LPRC presented the work that is being implemented on WP8 – Active Roadmapping and Clustering, which the team leads. The previous work was analyzed and next steps were defined for the months to come. During the afternoon, the consortium was divided into different sessions. In one of this sessions, LPRC hosted an interactive Horizon Scanning Exercise (following a previous one) with the ROBOMINERS experts. This exercise aimed at analysing “hits” – aspects of relevance for the implementation of ROBOMINERS – and study how they can impact and be important for the continuation of the project. The results will now be processed by the LPRC team.

On the second day, the ROBOMINERS partners visited a mine in neighboring Slovenia – Mežica mine – which is under consideration for a test site location for the project’s demonstrations. On the third and final day, and back to Leoben, the project hosted its 2nd Clustering event entitled “The key technological obstacles towards a fully autonomous robotic mining (eco)system”, a Twinning Event organised between Leoben, Brussels and online. LPRC took part in the preparation of this Clustering event.

Follow the project developments on its website and social media channels!

INCORE

LPRC was in the Madeira Island for the first in person INCORE meeting

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After a few months of online collaboration, the INCORE consortium had the first opportunity to meet in person to discuss the project progress in the Madeira Island between 9 and 11 November 2021. LPRC members Luís Lopes and Márcio Tameirão were in this Outermost Region island not only to help define next activities and steps but also to bring coordination to the communication and dissemination efforts of the project.

The three-day meeting was planned according to the following schedule:

  1. 9th November 2021: Welcome by Univerirsity of Madeira´s Dean and Vice Dean: brief introduction of the consortium, short presentation about INCORE’s concept, background and objectives, emphasizing its positive impact in the entrepreneurship and innovation sectors in the EU Outermost Regions. The introduction of the project was well received by UMa’s dean and vice dean, who showed a strong support to the initiative.
  2. 10th November 2021: 8th INCORE Consortium Meeting: The task leaders related to Work Package 2 – Setting the Stage – presented the work progress and the produced deliverables that mapped topics on Contextual analysis of the regional innovation environment, Institutional capacities and information exchange, Training and mentoring programmes to be developed in INCORE and the Action Plan and Roadmap to implementation.
  3. 11th November 2021: 1st open INCORE regional event: a hybrid event held in Universidade da Madeira, as well as online. The opening session was conducted by the vice dean of UMa, followed by the Project Coordinator Nuno Almeida, who provided a presentation about the project. After that, the next session titled “Innovation Capacity Building in EU’s Outermost Regions” counted with two invited guest speakers:
    • Introduction to Entrepreneurial Dynamics and Social-Economic Impacts in ORs (Miguel Amaral)
    • Requirements for Resilient Innovation Ecosystems in ORs (Oliver Schwabe)

After intense meetings during these three days, the INCORE consortium reviewed the past and current progress of the tasks, and aligned the work plan for the upcoming months. In addition, it was an opportunity to develop team building activities, and strengthen the partnership within the project.

Follow the project on the website and social media!

LPRC participation at CROWDTHERMAL meetings in the Netherlands

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Between the  6th and 8th of October 2021 the CROWDTHERMAL consortium met physically in Utrecht, the Netherlands, for the first time since the kick-off meeting of the project.

The three-day meeting was divided in different sections:

  • CROWDTHERMAL technical session with community funding
  • CROWDTHERMAL 9th Consortium meeting
  • CROWDTHERMAL 2th General Assembly
  • Advisory board workshop: international conference on new financial mechanisms for geothermal energy (risk mitigation, social, financial)

In this opportunity, Balazs Bodo and Márcio Tameirão represented LPRC to share with the participants the work completed in the 2nd year of the project, as well as the work plan for the 3rd and final year of CROWDTHERMAL. Balazs Bodo led the talk on the sustainability plan of the project (Work Package 7), to structure the continuation of CROWDTHERMAL services beyond the EC-funded period. Márcio Tameirão provided presentations on the deployment of the project´s core services (Work Package 4), as well as the development of the deliverable related to the FAQ tool that will be available on CROWDTHERMAL website. In addition, Márcio also introduced the work that LPRC is doing on CROWDTHERMAL social media channels, as part of the dissemination work package (WP6) led by EFG.

After fruitful discussions among the consortium and the Advisory Board thorough the three days of the event, the CROWDTHERMAL team have resources to further align the strategy for the upcoming tasks towards the final year of the project.

Follow CROWDTHERMAL on the website, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

INTERMIN project Final Review Meeting

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The INTERMIN project held its Final Review Meeting with the EC on the 24th September. This was the opportunity to showcase to the European Commission the work that the project has developed and implemented over the last 3 years.

After the usual presentations of the meeting participants, discussions started with a presentation + Q&A session for each of the 6 Work Packages. LPRC, as leader of WP2 – Raw materials sector skills, gaps and emerging knowledge needs, presented the work done by the team on the collection and processing of the future skills and competences gaps for the raw materials value chain. Results were mentioning are the development of three reports: D2.1, D2.2 and D.2.3. The reviewers held a discussion with the LPRC team on the use of skills as a future proof measure to ensure the adaptation of the raw materials sector to new needs.

After all the Work Packages presentations and discussions, the project team received a very positive feedback on the INTERMIN outcomes. Next steps and the sustainability of the project after the funding period were also discussed.

The LPRC team is proud to be a part of INTERMIN and wish the best success to all the project participants and to the continuation of the project itself!

LPRC active during the last MOBI-US project Workshop

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The final event of the MOBI-US project was held in Zagreb, Croatia, on 20-21 September 2021. The MOBI-US Workshop 2 was dedicated to consortium partners and other leaders of the MSc programs involved in MOBI-US. A total of 17 participants had the opportunity to meet in person for the first time since the project’s kick-off meeting, in Budapest, Hungary. From La Palma Research Centre, Luís Lopes and Márcio Tameirão were present.

The first day started with welcome words by the Project Coordinator, followed by the MOBI-US achievements and promotional materials that have been produced to raise awareness on the project (developed by LPRC). Afterwards, the MSc program leaders were divided in groups in a Workshop-like exercise co-organised and co-mentored by LPRC. The goal was to foster the implementation of entrepreneurial & innovation skills in the offered education programs in MOBI-US.

The next block was dedicated to the improvement of project-based courses and curriculum fitness check of the mobility pathways, before the wrap-up of the first day of the event.

The second and final day of the Workshop started with an analysis made by the mentors on the submitted SWOT analyses and action plans from the Training event. During this ocasion, LPRC members made their mentoring comments on the received materials in order to support the development of joint cooperation. Finally, the consortium partners discussed about the potential future of MOBI-US.

The MOBI-US team

Stay tuned on the project’s communication channels to learn more about the final weeks of MOBI-US!

The MacaroNight 2021 is today – do not miss it!

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Our MacaroNight project, part of the European Researchers’ Night, will held scientific activities and outreach in the archipelagos of Canarias, Azores and Madeira. This is the perfect opportunity to learn what the Macaronesian scientists are doing to help the Macaronesia regions. You can take part both online and in person!

Macaronesia area, where the MacaroNight events take place.

The MacaroNight project, led by LPRC, is a Macaronesian focused project that exists to demonstrate the Macaronesian research on this day. This is already the third time in a row that MacaroNight is proud to be part of the unique European Reserachers’ Night.

Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the events of  MacaroNight will happen both online and in person. To learn more on the activities, schedules and places where MacaroNight will be represented, please check the website in the corresponding Spanish, Portuguese or English versions.

Follow the project’s social channels on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram and be part of MacaroNight!

The MacaroNight 2021 is fast approaching

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It is already this Friday, 24 September 2021, that the European Researchers’ Night is celebrated all around Europe. The European Researchers’ Night is a series of public events that bring researchers and their activities to the public. It is the perfect place, once a year, to showcase the many research activities developed for the sake of science and their impact on our everyday lives. These events also aim to raise awareness and interest in research careers.

Macaronesia area, where the MacaroNight events take place.

The MacaroNight project, led by LPRC, is a Macaronesian focused project that exists to demonstrate the Macaronesian research on this day. This is already the third time in a row that MacaroNight is proud to be part of the unique European Reserachers’ Night.

Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the events of  MacaroNight will happen both online and in person. To learn more on the activities, schedules and places where MacaroNight will be represented, please check the website in the corresponding Spanish, Portuguese or English versions.

Follow the project’s social channels on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram and be part of MacaroNight!

INCORE 2nd project meeting

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Following the first official Kick-off meeting, the INCORE team held another meeting on the 8th of September to discuss and analyse the project implementation, with EIT InnoEnergy, the entity responsible for the funding.

In this occasion, the agenda focused on three main points: 1) administrative and financial reporting of the partners’ activities (WP1 – Project Management), 2) on how to implement the tasks of WP2 – Setting the stage, in order to meet the proposed KPIs which include training and mentoring of students, staff and non-staff members of the targeted Outermost Regions, and 3) the communication and outreach measures to boost the project impact.

LPRC presented its ideas for the implementation of the communication activities. These included the creation and set up of the website, social media channels, logo and templates for the project and will be followed with the creation of the Communication and Dissemination Plan and all the outreach materials.

The INCORE team during the 2nd meeting.

Follow the project website and Social Media channels (@incore_eu) to learn more on how we are connecting the Outermost Regions to support Innovation and Entrepreneurship!

UNEXMIN GeoRobotics

LPRC representing UNEXUP at RawMat2021!

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From 5 – 9 September 2021 the academic community, engineers, scientists, industry executives, stakeholders and policy makers, and other professionals in the field of raw materials have attended the RawMat2021 Conference, an event that took place both in virtual and in person formats. The International Conference on Raw Materials and Circular Economy was held in Athens, Greece, and it was mostly focused on the technological developments and future challenges regarding Raw Materials, with emphasis given on Circular Economy aspects. In this opportunity, the abstract submitted by the UNEXUP consortium was approved to be presented at the event.

As Work Package Leader on Communication and Dissemination (WP4), LPRC represented UNEXUP at the event. The presentation titled “UNEXUP, a robot-based surveying technology for flooded mines and other underwater structures” was held on 6 September, under SESSION A4 – Mine of the future and transition to Industry 4.0. It covered the overall details of the project, the robotic technology, commercialization, and also the four field missions that took place in the past months.

Márcio Tameirão presented the UNEXUP project at RawMat2021.

The reports and webpages dedicated to the field missions of the UNEXUP project are under development, and LPRC will publish them on the website and share on social media whenever they become available. Meanwhile, follow the project news on the website and Social Media (@UNEXUP)!

INCORE Project Kick-off

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The most recent collaborative project in LPRC’s portfolio – INCORE – held its Kick-off meeting online on the 17th of August, to start discussions on the implementation pathways for the project. INCORE is one of the 23 projects selected under the recent Cross-KIC call for Higher Education Institutions Innovation and Entrepreneurship development. The project aims to boost innovation and entrepreneurial capacity in higher education institutions in Europe’s Outermost Regions by seizing region-specific contextual and business opportunities.

The project represents a collaborative approach between four regions – Madeira and Azores (Portugal), Canary Islands (Spain) and La Reunion (France) – involving different actors from the Knowledge Triangle including education, research and industry partners (such as LPRC). The project is, however, driven by the HEIs from Madeira, Canarias and La Reunion, and these are supported by IST (Lisbon). The partnership includes:

  • Instituto Superior Técnico (HEI, Portugal)
  • Université de La Reunion (HEI, France)
  • Universidade da Madeira (HEI, Portugal)
  • Universidad Europea de Canárias (HEI, Spain)
  • Universidade da Madeira (HEI, Portugal)
  • La Palma Research Centre (SME/Research, Spain)
  • Trisolaris Advanced Technologies (SME, Portugal)

INCORE is divided in 4 WPs – Project Management, Setting the Stage, Action, Communication, Dissemination and Outreach. LPRC is leading the communication efforts, but also support the implementation of the work within the other WPs. The agenda of the Kick-off meeting included presentations and discussions on all of the future actions. From LPRC, Márcio Tameirão presented the vision for WP4 outreach activities.

Check the project website and Social Media channels (@incore_eu) to learn more about the project!