AQUAEXCEL3.0 is a European project that aims to boost the EU aquaculture sector by expanding the Transnational Access program to support more external research teams collaborating with its high-quality facilities, providing free training courses on the latest topics and ensuring research is aligned with industry needs.
A major feature of AQUAEXCEL3.0 is its TransNational Access (TNA) program, allowing external researchers to access the partners’ facilities via submission of research proposals, which are funded based on the evaluation by an independent selection panel. Access is offered to 40 unique research infrastructures of the participating institutes, with experimental costs, travel and subsistence covered by AQUAEXCEL3.0.
Transnational Access involves a research group in one country collaborating with one or more AQUAEXCEL3.0 Infrastructures that are located in a different country to the applicant, and which offer facilities and expertise not available in their own country. The collaboration normally takes the form of one or more scientists from the applicant organization visiting the selected AQUAEXCEL3.0 installation to undertake research work there for up to three months. In some cases, remote access is also available.
The facilities available cover the entire range of aquaculture production systems (RAS, flowthrough, cage, hatchery and pond systems), environments (freshwater and marine, cold, temperate and warm water), scales (small, medium and industrial scale), culture species (fish, shellfish, seaweeds and insects), and fields of expertise (nutrition, physiology, health and welfare, genetics, engineering, monitoring and management technologies).
The overall objective of the project is to promote the coordinated use and development of these experimental facilities and encourage problem-based research and knowledge transfer to more effectively support the development of sustainable European production of high-quality seafood with reduced environmental impact. The establishment of new transnational collaborations is strongly encouraged, as well as the participation by SMEs.
For more details and to apply, click here.
