The BEAP-MAR consortium met in person for the second time in Portugal last month but what did they get up to?
On the 1st and 2nd July, Instituto Politécnico de Leiria welcomed project partners to the beautiful Peniche in Portugal for the projects’ second partner meeting and the first BEAP-MAR Pill.
Proceedings began at the Cetemares building with the President of Polytechnic University of Leiria & the Dean of the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology greeting all the partners in attendance and providing an overview of the university and the various initiatives they are involved in.
Following this the project conducted their partner meeting where technical aspects were discussed, each partner presented their progress to date and various decisions were taken to ensure the continued smooth running of the project. After the meeting was concluded the partners got a tour of the Cetemares building which allowed them to learn more about the work currently and previously carried out there. Also, while passing through the various labs and rooms partners asked questions, conversed on related topics and shared their experiences – see the video below!
The project team then enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Xakra Beach bar located one of the many spectacular beaches that makes Peniche a hot-spot for surfers from all around the world.
On the second day, the partners reunited at the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology facilities to conclude the project meeting and to carry out the BEAP-MAR Pill 1. This was an event open to the public that took place both in-person and online and seen 44 people in total attend. The event which was 1hr 30mins in length seen four guest speakers take to the stage to present on several topics.
The session was hosted by Rui Pedrosa (Polytechnic of Leiria) who initially welcomed the attendees and outlined what the BEAP-MAR project is and its progress to date. The session then looked at topics such as Exploring Seaweed’s antifouling potential, Compounds from marine organisms for drug discovery, Marine-based solutions for a future-proof food chain and more. After each presentation, attendees were given the opportunity to ask questions as part of the Q&A element. This engaged all participants and sparked conversations, many of which followed on after the event.
“I’m very satisfied…we have a team that is united. Each partners’ contributions are very different but they complement each other. I expect that we will discover some new pharmacological activities over the next few years”.
Luis Botana, Lead Partner of the BEAP-MAR consortium
To conclude an insightful two days in Peniche, the project team visited a well-known restaurant on the north side of the peninsula to enjoy a seafood lunch with fantastic beach views.
Overall, it was an extremely beneficial and insightful trip for the project team which really refocused the teams efforts in terms of upcoming deliverables and milestones to achieve.
A massive thanks to the Instituto Politécnico de Leiria team for hosting the BEAP-MAR consortium over the two days!
