Post-Event Press Release
Crete — 7 Oct 2025
The 1st “Water Innovators Academy Development” Workshop was successfully held on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, as part of the HEI EIT AquaSphere project, coordinated by the Technical University of Crete. The workshop was held at the School of Architectural Engineering of the Technical University of Crete and was also available online.
At the start of the workshop, the coordinator and scientific director of the project, Dr. M. Antonakakis, spoke about the purpose of the program and its contribution to the training of members of the academic community, followed by theoretical presentations and applied approaches by representatives of the universities and companies of the consortium, who emphasized the following:
- Innovation is not linear (Innovation management in the blue economy, Cardiff Metropolitan University)
- Start-ups provide solutions in water technologies (Support for start-ups in water technologies, ENVOLVE)
- Water industry and universities: two rivers flowing together (Collaboration between industry and academia, Izmir Institute of Technology)
- People at the center of innovation space design (Innovation space design, TUCTIE Lab, The Technical University of Crete)
- Innovation accessible to all (Inclusive innovation practices, SenseLAB, The Technical University of Crete)
The workshop received 42 applications from academic and non-academic staff members of Greek and foreign universities, while 37 people enriched the hybrid first meeting with questions and open discussion.
The training material remains available through the MOOC on the project’s official website – under the Activities tab – for those who, after applying to participate, register for the workshops.
After successfully completing all the workshops, participants will receive a digital certificate of attendance (EIT HEI Digital Certificate), confirming their participation in a high-level contemporary educational experience.
The action is part of a series of four workshops, which will continue in the coming months at the following partner universities:
- The Technical University of Crete (Greece)
- Izmir Institute of Technology (Turkey)
- Cardiff Metropolitan University (United Kingdom)
- University of the Antilles (France)
For dates and registration for upcoming workshops, interested parties can visit the official AquaSphere project website: https://aquasphereproject.eu/
About AquaSphere
Supported by the EIT HEI Initiative, the AquaSphere Project aims to deliver scalable solutions that strengthen education, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the blue economy, contributing directly to EU sustainability goals.
Contact: info@aquasphereproject.eu
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