CAMPUS DO MAR

SUMMARY FOR PUBLICATION
Campus of International Excellence
CAMPUS DO MAR

SUMMARY FOR PUBLICATION
CAMPUS OF INTERNATIONAL EXCELLENCE
CAMPUS DO MAR
Campus do Mar − a collective experiment towards excellence
When in October, 2010, the international evaluation commission
of the International Campus of Excellence Program issued
a positive assessment to the Campus do Mar’s proposal of
creating a transnational aggregation on marine research, technology
transfer and education, It acknowledged the historical
relationship between the Galicia-Northern Portugal Eurorregion
and the sea and challenged the existing critical mass of
researchers, lecturers and businessmen focussed on marine
activities on a collective path towards excellence.
Human capital, a history linked to the sea and the challenge to
become an International Campus of Excellence, provided the
impetus for establishing this Campus do Mar network, which
was promoted by the three Galician universities, the Spanish
Research Council (CSIC) and the Spanish Oceanographic
Institute (IEO), and which comprises a total of 23 institutions
from Galicia and Northern Portugal. Based on such favourable
starting conditions, During the past two years, Campus do Mar
has laid the foundations for creating a solid R&D aggregation
whose mission is to become an international reference in
marine research.
The first results from this collective experiment are now
becoming a reality. Apart from the consolidation of the
R&D aggregation and the increased research capacity of its
members, their cooperative work has enabled Campus do
Mar to attract funds to the tune of €2,430,000 after an initial
investment of €1,157,000 which effectively demonstrates
the multiplying effect of the project. These results encourage
the implementation of the Campus do Mar strategic plan in
order to achieve the initially scheduled objectives, namely; to
strongly bet on training, employment and talent attraction, on
which more than 40% of the investment has been spent.
This R&D aggregation, with such a high number of participating
actors, requires a solid governance structure in which
the partners feel adequately represented. An organisation
chart has been therefore designed presided by a Governing
Board made up of the heads of each of the five promoter institutions.
Such Governing Body delegates executive functions
to the management team comprised of one director and six
area directors representing the several institutions who in turn
are supported by the various sectorial executive commissions
entrusted with establishing the master plan for each of the
strategic axis of the project.
1
página 174

SUMMARY FOR PUBLICATION
The Campus do Mar spans a geographic area of more than
300 km distributed along the Atlantic façade of the Iberian
Peninsula and, therefore, needs an advanced connection
system to facilitate collaborative work from a distance and
information exchange among groups. The result of such an
initiative is the Digital Campus do Mar (DigiMAR) Unit, which
offers a range of ICT services to the International Campus of
Excellence (ICE) members such as organisation of distance
work meetings, lectures and tutorials. It also provides taped
class material and scientific and teaching content to remotely
located students. Users can likewise access a video library that
contains a total of 669 videos, which amounts to a total of 798
hours of scientific and/or educational content that has been
viewed 314,000 times from 2010 to date.
Research of excellence focussed on the
productive sectors
The more than 3000 researchers currently involved in Campus
do Mar are organised into four clusters that coincide with
the challenges initially identified by the aggregation, namely:
“Ocean Observation and Global Change”, “Sustainable Use of
Marine Resources”, “Integrated Coastal Zone Management”
and “Competitiveness: Technological Progress and Business
Management”. Working groups have been created to define
the research areas, and subsequently draft the corresponding
strategic plans.
New research emergent lines connected with “omic” technologies
applied to the marine field have been initiated in 2012.
About 20 researchers representing 7 Campus do Mar member
institutions met and agreed to start drafting a strategic plan for
this research line during the last quarter of 2012.
Results emerging from the research carried out at Campus do
Mar should directly benefit society and the productive sector.
To that end, a program focussed on transfer of knowledge has
been developed in close coordination with the current specialised
structures. The main action of this program is to set up a
team of innovation managers who, once the selection process
is completed, shall work on improvimg the efffciency of the
transfer of knowledge from the research groups to the productive
sector.
The creation of the Sea Emprende program means that the
Campus do Mar is firmly committed to promoting an entrepreneurship
culture by stimulating initiatives that will lead to new
highly technological companies, in close collaboration with
the Transference Units (OTRIs) belonging to the Campus do
Mar member institutions. An example of this committment is
the Campus do Mar Virtual Incubator of Enterprises which is
currently in the design stage.
CAMPUS OF INTERNATIONAL EXCELLENCE
CAMPUS DO MAR
62,000 km trip around the world to establish
new alliances
The international vocation of Campus do Mar has led to the
design and implementation of an internationalisation strategy,
which in its first phase identified target countries and then
designed a package of actions to disseminate the strengths of
the R&D aggregation. In a further phase, contacts were established
with relevant institutions aiming at carrying out joint
actions and collaborations that would in turn reinforce the
weight and credibility of the International Campus of Excellence.
The missions to the target countries were the second phase
in this internationalisation process. The Campus do Mar delegation
has so far travelled more than 62,000 km and visited a
total of 29 reference research centres, universities and R&D
finance institutions in Brazil, China and Mexico and has signed
several collaboration agreements. The mission also arranged
the visit of the representatives from the Ocean University of
China in Qingdao who visited Campus do Mar in September
to explore ways for establishing joint degree programs. Such
internationalisation travel will continue in autumn 2012 first to
the Philippines where Campus do Mar will be presented at the
Science for International Development Conference, and then
to Chile where representatives will visit the most relevant institutions
in the country.
The teaching and research capacity of the Campus do Mar
is now present in developing countries where it is carried out
cooperation projects. Between 2010 and 2012 actions were
mainly concentrated in two countries: Colombia and the Cape
2
página 175

SUMMARY FOR PUBLICATION
Verde Islands. In Colombia, and more precisely in the region of
Antioquia, experts from Campus do Mar carried out the Erica
project, suppoorted by the Spanish Agency for International
Cooperation (AECID). This project performed a diagnosis and
proposed strategies for promoting socioeconomic development
along the Antioquian coast based on issues related to marine
and coastal resources. The action in the Cape Verde Islands
partially funded by the Regional Government of Galicia (Xunta
de Galicia) is oriented towards training PhDs in this African
country. Four researchers from the Cape Verde Islands will
be trained at Campus do Mar with the aim of preparing their
PhD thesis. A Memorandum of Understanding has also been
signed with the Organisation of the Fish & Aquaculture Sector
of the Central American Isthmus (OSPESCA), which represents
7 Central American countries, in order to reinforce marine
research, offer quality academic training, and support for the
implementation of production development initiatives.
A support & welcome office has been created to facilitate
arrival of foreign researchers and students. It provides the
support needed during their initial stay at Campus do Mar by
helping them to get organised.
In 2011, the Campus do Mar was awarded the UNESCO Chair
for Sustainable Coastal Development. The Chair carries out
training and information exchange activities that are related to
programs associated with the main UNESCO areas.
DO*MAR, the flagship of the future
International Postgraduate School
The DO*MAR PhD program in “Marine Science, Technology
and Management”, the International Campus of Excellence’s
commitment towards postgraduate training, will start during
CAMPUS OF INTERNATIONAL EXCELLENCE
CAMPUS DO MAR
this academic year 2012-2013. This is a joint degree program
offered by the three Galician universities, the CSIC, the IEO,
and three universities from Northern Portugal. This program
has been created with a global vision, multi-annual planning
and with an international cross-border objective. The aim of
the program is to develop the best researchers in the different
scientific and technological aspects of the marine area, as well
as their economic and social aspects, with a view to generating
quality research and international impact to provide the
industry with the best tools in a global competition scenario. All
lectures will be delivered in English by renowned lecturers from
the most prestigious institutions worldwide..These lectures
will be broadcasted live and recorded on file to provide easy
access at any time and from any Campus do Mar member
institution.
Students wishing to enrol on the DO*MAR PhD program
can benefit from a joint grant announcement of Campus do
Mar-Xunta de Galicia, which contemplates the award of 12
PhD research scholarships for studies at any of the promoting
institutions. These three year grants were announced on
the 23rd of July, 2012, and will be financed 80% by the
Department of Education and 20% by the Campus do Mar.
Training, mobility and talent attraction,
investment in human capital
Campus do Mar has encouraged training of professionals on
marine science and technology through the announcement of
35 Master’s scholarships forto carry out studies at the Galician
University System institutions. Twenty-eight EC students and
seven non-EC ones were selected from among 115 applicants.
A second grant announcement was made in 2012 for a total of
17 scholarships in which 103 applications were received from
16 countries.
Campus do Mar provides incentives for the mobility of researchers,
lecturers and students in order to encourage knowledge
exchange. Mobility grants were therefore announced in
2012 and 16 researchers carried out visits at internationally
renowned research centres. Such visits helped them
to improve their level of scientific excellence, increase their
dynamism and their capacity to undertake new lines of
research and to reinforce existing lines. They have also contributed
to a greater market orientation and interaction with the
business community. An increase in the number of students
who visited the premises of Campus do Mar and in those who
visited foreign universities was achieved thanks mainly to the
signing of new reciprocity agreements.
The ten overseas post-doctorate researchers financed by the
EU to carry out their 48 month research at Campus do Mar
3
página 176

SUMMARY FOR PUBLICATION
institutions will contribute substantially to the talent attraction
program that has helped to reinforce research groups and
establish international networks. This opportunity will not only
enable Campus do Mar to exhibit its full potential but will also
permit the incorporation of top level researchers, thanks to the
900,000 € received from the 7th Framework Program under
the Marie Curie, COFUND actions.
Moreover, Campus do Mar also promotes training and talent
attraction amongst the very young in society. Actions such as
the Summer Science Campus that introduced marine science
and technology to selected secondary school students or the
design of the Novo*Mar program which in the near future will
help connect secondary education students with the Campus
of Excellence are examples of actions oriented at breaking the
traditional barriers that exist between secondary schooling and
higher education.
A sustainable campus created for society
By following the approach of investing in intelligence and
boosting human capital as against infrastructures, all available
funds have been so far invested in training, mobility and
employment for researchers. However, the Campus do Mar
needs to have central headquarters and these will be located
on the premises of the Navy’s former Transmissions & Electronics
School in Vigo. A new sectorial plan has been approved
for the site and negotiations are underway that will eventually
enable the start of fitting-out works in the buildings that will
house the different Campus do Mar research and transference
units.
CAMPUS OF INTERNATIONAL EXCELLENCE
CAMPUS DO MAR
The creation of a network on marine knowledge goes beyond
just research, teaching and technology transfer. It acts directly
on the social environment and invite people to learn, enjoy
and protect the sea. Therefore, a set of actions was designed
within the strategic campus transformation axis, to disseminate
science and the results of marine researchers via the
mass media, and to generate an environment in which the
sea acquires prominence. Since last year and to that end,
members of Campus do Mar have offered a wide range of activities
for sports, leisure and culture through the CampusMar
Life program.
In short, Campus do Mar is a future commitment that is
already becoming a reality. It is geared towards the creation
of a consortium to respond to the challenges faced by the
acquisition of marine knowledge in the 21st century..Benefiting
from favourable initial conditions, by boosting its strengths,
correcting its weaknesses, and through a firm commitment of
its members towards training, talent attraction and internationalisation
as against betting on large infrastructures, Campus
do Mar has managed to create an environment that invites
to deepen into the knowledge of the oceans with the main
objective of achieving a direct impact on society thus contributing
to its progress
4
página 177