Introducing: Panel One at the IPBN Ocean Conference

Meet the panelists!

The IPBN, in partnership with the Porto Business School, the City Hall of Matosinhos, and the Interdisciplinary Center of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), will take a look at the advances that the port city of Matosinhos is taking in the maritime world in an effort to highlight the synergies and potential partnerships that exist with Ireland. On Wednesday, October 25 at the EDP Auditorium of the Porto Business School, our focus will be on the blue economy at the 2023 edition of the IPBN Ocean Conference. We will discuss offshore wind energy, the position and aspiration of the ports of Leixões, Viana do Castelo, and the Douro Navigable Route.

To kick off the event, the Chair of the IPBN, Geoffrey Graham will offer words of welcome, followed by opening statements from Jose Esteves, Dean of the Porto Business School, and Luisa Salgueiro, President of Câmara Municipal de Matosinhos. The latter will address whether it is feasible for the world's largest port cities to become environmentally sustainable.

At 9h40, we will welcome two panelists and a moderator to the stage for a conversation between two academics from the Universities of Porto and Coimbra respectively about their latest science and research papers, and how CiiMAR is advancing that knowledge and pushing toward innovation. Moderated by IPBN Chair of the Porto Committee John Paul Prior, we will welcome Vitor Vasconcelos, Professor at the University of Porto and President of the Board at CIIMAR to chat with Fernando Seabra Santos, Professor at the University of Coimbra. The two will describe the Whale4 submarine concept for research and tourism, as well as information on marine & environmental marine science research from over 180 Ph.D. students and how their +500 published articles have identified key elements in the fight for sustainability in our oceans.

Vitor holds a Ph.D. in Biology and is a full professor at the Faculty of Sciences of Porto University (FCUP). Simultaneously, he is the director of CIIMAR and the Director of the Group of Blue Biotechnology and Ecotoxicology (LEGE lab). Victor has supervised 65 MSC and 25 Ph.D. students, especially in the area of cyanobacteria secondary metabolites and their uses; toxins and molecules with biotechnological applications. He is responsible for the LEGE culture collection comprising more than 400 strains of cyanobacteria and has published 280 papers in Toxicology and Biotechnology. We are delighted to hear what he has to say!

Meanwhile, Fernando holds a Ph.D. from the University of Grenoble (France) in Physical Oceanography and was the first coordinator of the Degree in Environmental Engineering at FCTUC. He has served as Rector of the University of Coimbra between 2003 and 2011 and from 2007 to 2010, he held the position of president of the Council of Rectors of Portuguese Universities. Among other milestones in his career, Fernando founded Friday - Ciência e Engenharia do Lazer, SA, a company that aims to conceive, design, build, and sell nautical devices with a high technology and innovation component. As of 2020, this company was considered a leading specialist in floating home design by the German magazine BUILD. Last week on October 23, Fernando taught his last lesson at Coimbra University on the theme "Meeting of Waters," in order to mark his retirement as a Full Professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra (FCTUC).

We would like to thank our Executive Partners PwC Portugal, Vellozo Ferreira Advogados, Ardanis, Skanstec Engineering, Konceptness, Brookes Property Group, and The Portugal News for their continued support in making this and all other IPBN events possible.