Meet Bernadette Ní Chonghaile, the AQUARIUS Project Manager based at the Marine Institute in Ireland. With a background in marine operations and EU-funded transnational access projects, Bernadette plays a central role in coordinating activities across the consortium’s 45 partners. She helps ensure that researchers across Europe can benefit from free access to world-class marine and freshwater infrastructures.
We spoke with Bernadette about her role, the opportunities offered by AQUARIUS and why collaboration matters.
Can you tell us about your role in AQUARIUS?
As Project Manager, I oversee and coordinate all project activities, ensuring they align with our administrative, financial, legal, and contractual requirements. A key part of my role involves overseeing the efficient delivery of transnational access to infrastructures, while managing the budget to ensure optimal resource utilisation and value for money.
What makes AQUARIUS unique?
This is the first time that transnational access to both marine and freshwater research infrastructures has been brought together under one project. It is a unique opportunity for scientists to access resources that allow them to study entire ecosystems in a more integrated way. The second call for proposals is opening on September 2nd, 2025, when researchers can apply to access a wide range of infrastructures to support research from source to sea, all free of charge.
What is Transnational Access, and how does it work in AQUARIUS?
Transnational Access means that researchers can access infrastructures and associated services from countries other than their own, including technical and logistical support completely free of charge. A contribution towards researchers’ travel and logistics costs while accessing the infrastructure is also provided. AQUARIUS is offering this access
to researchers across Europe and beyond, helping to support cutting-edge science regardless of national funding limitations.
What are you most excited about in the project?
I am really looking forward to seeing the proposals submitted in response to our calls, and even more so to witness the projects come to life on AQUARIUS infrastructures. It is very rewarding to support researchers in turning their ideas into action, especially when it involves finding creative solutions to logistical challenges.
What has been the biggest learning curve so far?
With a background in marine infrastructure, one of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of my current role has been familiarising myself with freshwater systems and other infrastructures such as aircraft and satellite services, which were previously outside my experience. I am enjoying the process of learning how to bring both domains together in a coherent way.
Why is EU funding, such as Horizon Europe, important for researchers?
Horizon Europe gives researchers access to funding and facilities they might not otherwise have in their own countries. It also fosters collaboration between institutions across Europe, which helps build strong scientific communities and prevents duplication of work.
Any final message to researchers thinking about applying?
I strongly encourage scientists working in both marine and freshwater domains to take full advantage of this exceptional opportunity. The second AQUARIUS call opens on 02 September 2025, and based on feedback from Call 1, we have refined our eligibility criteria to better reflect the needs of the research community which means that single entities can now apply for transnational access to our research infrastructures.
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