RESEARCH
PBDH - PRR PORTUGAL BLUE DIGITAL HUB (2024-2026)
PARTILHA
The Portugal Blue Digital Hub (PBDH), running from April 1, 2024,
to December 31, 2025, and extending into 2026, focused on the digital transformation and
sustainability of the blue economy sector. It involved collaboration in
identifying skill needs and training profiles within the maritime
sector, as well as defining training programs aligned with the STCW
Convention for direct inclusion in ANQEP's National Qualifications
Catalogue, contributing to the development of digital and green skills
in a maritime context.
The researchers from the
Infante D. Henrique Maritime College (ENIDH) were Professors Mário
Assunção (Principal Investigator), Sandrina Pereira, Valéria Pequeno,
Adriana Fernandes, Manuela Batista, Paulo Henriques, João Morim, José
Costa, Pedro Teodoro, e Ricardo Póvoa.
The Consortium
The PBDH had 3 strategic objectives:
- Fórum Oceano - Associação da Economia do Mar (Portugal) - (coordinator)
- AIR Centre - Atlantic International Research Centre (Portugal)
- ISQ - Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade (Portugal)
- CIIMAR - Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental (Portugal)
- INESC TEC (Portugal)
- Beta-i Collaborative Innovation (Portugal)
- DGRM - Direção-Geral de Recursos Naturais, Segurança e Serviços Marítimos (Portugal)
- Magellan - European Affairs Consultancy (Portugal)
- Universidade de Aveiro (Portugal)
- InovaRia- Rede de Inovação em Aveiro (Portugal)
- Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal)
- Yacooba Labs (Portugal)
- Instituto Hidrográfico (Portugal)
- IPMA - Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (Portugal)
- Sines Tecnopolo (Portugal)
- Startup Madeira (Portugal)
- ENIDH (Portugal)
Mission and Objectives
The Portugal Blue Digital Hub (PBDH) was designed to promote the digital transformation of SMEs and public entities within the national blue economy sector. It aimed to foster interoperability between companies, stimulate entrepreneurship, and attract foreign investment, with a (but not exclusive) focus on developing services based on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Simultaneously, the PBDH also sought to focus on the digitalization of the maritime public sector, especially regarding the simplification of data access.
The Portugal Blue Digital Hub (PBDH) was designed to promote the digital transformation of SMEs and public entities within the national blue economy sector. It aimed to foster interoperability between companies, stimulate entrepreneurship, and attract foreign investment, with a (but not exclusive) focus on developing services based on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Simultaneously, the PBDH also sought to focus on the digitalization of the maritime public sector, especially regarding the simplification of data access.
The PBDH had 3 strategic objectives:
- Test before invest;
- Attract investment and funding, and develop the innovation ecosystem;
- Develop the skills and training necessary for the digital transition of the Portuguese Maritime Cluster.
Activities and Services
The PBDH focused on facilitating access to 8 groups of digital, innovation, training, and investment support services (developed with a priority on Artificial Intelligence):
Objectives of Work Package 7 (WP7):
The project involved a total investment of 5.89 million EUR, corresponding to financial support in the form of a non-repayable grant amounting to 4.45 million EUR. ENIDH was allocated a total amount of 99,244 EUR, which corresponds to financial support of 74,433 EUR. Dimension: Digital Transition. Component: Enterprises 4.0. Investment: Catalysing the Digital Transition of Enterprises. Operation Code: 03/C16-i03/2022.P861. The PBDH project was co-financed by: PRR - Recovery and Resilience Plan, Portuguese Republic, European Union – NextGenerationEU, and EDIH – European Digital Innovation Hubs Networks.
Simultaneously, the PBDH also aimed to focus on the digitalization of the maritime public sector, particularly regarding the simplification of data access. The PBDH had three primary objectives: 1) test before investing; 2) attract investment and funding and develop the innovation ecosystem; 3) develop the training and skills necessary for the digital transition of the Portuguese Maritime Cluster.
The PBDH focused on facilitating access to eight major groups of digital, innovation, training, and investment support services (developed primarily with Artificial Intelligence): 1) digital services for ecosystem and environmental management of the blue economy; 2) digital prototyping services (digital simulation and additive manufacturing); 3) services for data access interoperability, the adoption of European and international standards, and public information services in the blue economy; 4) data analysis and data science for process modeling and forecasting, aiming to optimize industrial processes (in terms of productivity and environmental efficiency); 5) data science, mining, and market business intelligence services to optimize knowledge of export markets and consumer profiles; 6) digital services for measuring and monitoring the impact generated by ESG investments in the blue economy sectors; 7) acceleration services for digital blue economy SMEs (startups and scale-ups), provided in coordination with private and public EU investment funds; 8) digital skills training services.
ENIDH was a partner of ISQ in developing the activities of Work Package 7 (WP7) of the PBDH, whose objectives were: 1) to identify skill needs and training profiles in the maritime sector (Task 7.1); 2) to ensure the implementation of a digital platform with training programs that support the digital and green transition of SMEs and public sector organizations in the blue economy (Task 7.2); 3) to promote the qualification and training of seafarers in digital skills according to the STCW Convention, reflecting their inclusion in ANQEP's National Qualifications Catalogue (Task 7.3).
The PBDH project involved a total investment of approximately 5.9 million euros, corresponding to financial support in the form of a non-repayable incentive of approximately 4.5 million euros. ENIDH was allocated a total amount of approximately 99,000 euros, which corresponded to financial support of approximately 74,000 euros.
The PBDH focused on facilitating access to 8 groups of digital, innovation, training, and investment support services (developed with a priority on Artificial Intelligence):
- Digital services for ecosystem and environmental management of the blue economy;Digital prototyping services (digital simulation and additive manufacturing);
- Services for data access interoperability, the adoption of European and International standards and formats, and public information services within the blue economy;
- Data analysis and data science for process modeling and forecasting, aiming to optimize industrial processes (in terms of productivity and environmental efficiency);
- Data science, mining, and market business intelligence services to optimize knowledge of export markets and consumer profiles;
- Digital services for measuring and monitoring the impact generated by ESG investments in the blue economy sectors;
- Acceleration services for digital blue economy SMEs (startups and scale-ups), provided in coordination with private investment funds and public EU instruments;
- Digital skills training services.
ENIDH Role
ENIDH was a partner of ISQ in developing the activities of WP7 (Work Package 7).
ENIDH was a partner of ISQ in developing the activities of WP7 (Work Package 7).
Objectives of Work Package 7 (WP7):
- Identify skill needs and training profiles in the maritime sector;
- Ensure the implementation of a digital platform with training programs that support the digital and green transition of SMEs and public sector organizations within the blue economy;
- Promote the qualification and training of seafarers in digital skills in accordance with the STCW Convention, reflecting their inclusion in ANQEP's National Qualifications Catalogue;
The project involved a total investment of 5.89 million EUR, corresponding to financial support in the form of a non-repayable grant amounting to 4.45 million EUR. ENIDH was allocated a total amount of 99,244 EUR, which corresponds to financial support of 74,433 EUR. Dimension: Digital Transition. Component: Enterprises 4.0. Investment: Catalysing the Digital Transition of Enterprises. Operation Code: 03/C16-i03/2022.P861. The PBDH project was co-financed by: PRR - Recovery and Resilience Plan, Portuguese Republic, European Union – NextGenerationEU, and EDIH – European Digital Innovation Hubs Networks.
Summary
The Portugal Blue Digital Hub (PBDH), focused on the digital transformation and sustainability of the blue economy sector. It involved collaboration in identifying skill needs and training profiles within the maritime sector (Task 7.1) and defining training programs aligned with the STCW Convention for inclusion in ANQEP's National Qualifications Catalogue (Task 7.3), contributing to the development of digital and green skills in a maritime context. The primary goal of the Portugal Blue Digital Hub (PBDH) was to promote the digital transformation of SMEs and public entities within the national blue economy sector, fostering interoperability between companies, and stimulating entrepreneurship and the attraction of foreign investment, with a focus on developing services based on Artificial Intelligence (though not exclusively).
The Portugal Blue Digital Hub (PBDH), focused on the digital transformation and sustainability of the blue economy sector. It involved collaboration in identifying skill needs and training profiles within the maritime sector (Task 7.1) and defining training programs aligned with the STCW Convention for inclusion in ANQEP's National Qualifications Catalogue (Task 7.3), contributing to the development of digital and green skills in a maritime context. The primary goal of the Portugal Blue Digital Hub (PBDH) was to promote the digital transformation of SMEs and public entities within the national blue economy sector, fostering interoperability between companies, and stimulating entrepreneurship and the attraction of foreign investment, with a focus on developing services based on Artificial Intelligence (though not exclusively).
Simultaneously, the PBDH also aimed to focus on the digitalization of the maritime public sector, particularly regarding the simplification of data access. The PBDH had three primary objectives: 1) test before investing; 2) attract investment and funding and develop the innovation ecosystem; 3) develop the training and skills necessary for the digital transition of the Portuguese Maritime Cluster.
The PBDH focused on facilitating access to eight major groups of digital, innovation, training, and investment support services (developed primarily with Artificial Intelligence): 1) digital services for ecosystem and environmental management of the blue economy; 2) digital prototyping services (digital simulation and additive manufacturing); 3) services for data access interoperability, the adoption of European and international standards, and public information services in the blue economy; 4) data analysis and data science for process modeling and forecasting, aiming to optimize industrial processes (in terms of productivity and environmental efficiency); 5) data science, mining, and market business intelligence services to optimize knowledge of export markets and consumer profiles; 6) digital services for measuring and monitoring the impact generated by ESG investments in the blue economy sectors; 7) acceleration services for digital blue economy SMEs (startups and scale-ups), provided in coordination with private and public EU investment funds; 8) digital skills training services.
ENIDH was a partner of ISQ in developing the activities of Work Package 7 (WP7) of the PBDH, whose objectives were: 1) to identify skill needs and training profiles in the maritime sector (Task 7.1); 2) to ensure the implementation of a digital platform with training programs that support the digital and green transition of SMEs and public sector organizations in the blue economy (Task 7.2); 3) to promote the qualification and training of seafarers in digital skills according to the STCW Convention, reflecting their inclusion in ANQEP's National Qualifications Catalogue (Task 7.3).
The PBDH project involved a total investment of approximately 5.9 million euros, corresponding to financial support in the form of a non-repayable incentive of approximately 4.5 million euros. ENIDH was allocated a total amount of approximately 99,000 euros, which corresponded to financial support of approximately 74,000 euros.
