
In this Edition
- A word from our coordinator, Aodhán Fitzgerald
- First transnational access funding call – open soon!
- Preparing a winning submission – all you need to know
- One catalogue – 57 research infrastructures
- Open Science, Open Data!
- Training opportunities – including for early career scientists
- AQUARIUS out and about
- Dates for your diaries
AQUARIUS is a Horizon Europe-funded project with the aim to provide access to a comprehensive and diverse suite of integrated research infrastructures to address challenges and explore opportunities for the long-term sustainability of our marine and freshwater ecosystems.

A word from our coordinator, Aodhán Fitzgerald
I am delighted to welcome you to the first edition of the AQUARIUS newsletter. AQUARIUS is an important and ambitious project with the overall aim to provide transnational access to a comprehensive and diverse suite of integrated research infrastructures, enabling collaborative research on our marine and freshwater ecosystems.
Addressing the challenges facing these aquatic ecosystems requires a holistic and integrated approach and that is exactly what AQUARIUS is enabling. For the first time, scientists will have free access to world-class research infrastructures from a variety of domains, including air-borne, marine, land, and river-based facilities from across Europe’s regional sea areas and primary catchments. This broad geographic and cross-domain scope of AQUARIUS is only possible because of our large network of 45 partners from 18 countries.
Fostering the integration of research infrastructures is at the core of AQUARIUS. Next month (November 2024) we will launch the first of two transnational access funding calls, seeking proposals from collaborative projects that can demonstrate how they will integrate these infrastructures to address challenges that align with the objectives and thematic scope of the EU Mission: Restore Our Ocean and Waters.
In this newsletter, you can learn more about the upcoming first call and read about the creation of the AQUARIUS research infrastructure catalogue, an incredible resource that we invite you to explore. We also highlight our Open Data approach and take a look back at our recent regional brokerage events where we introduced our upcoming funding calls and connected scientists with the AQUARIUS research infrastructure providers. Looking ahead, we highlight the forthcoming training opportunities and some dates for your diaries – including the first AQUARIUS webinar for call applicants.
AQUARIUS has hit the ground running since the kick-off meeting in March 2024, with partners working to have everything in place for our first call, including a new transnational access platform for proposal submissions. We have also been stepping up our communication and outreach campaign to engage with you, the communities who can benefit from AQUARIUS and contribute to the impact of this 14.5 million euro investment.
For those of you interested in submitting a project proposal to our first call, I would advise you to start planning now. Take a look at our research infrastructure catalogue, stay tuned to our social media accounts for updates, and reach out to us with any questions that you may have.
Finally, please help us spread the word about this important project and the opportunities it offers by sharing this newsletter with your contacts.
With best wishes,
Aodhán Fitzgerald
Research Vessels Operations Manager
Marine Institute


The first of two transnational access funding calls, a “Regional Lighthouse Access Call”, will open from the 11th of November, 2024 to the 20th of January, 2025. The ambition is to foster large-scale, multidisciplinary projects that support research and innovation activities that address scientific challenges in the EU Mission Lighthouse Regions and related river basins. The AQUARIUS team have analysed priority knowledge and data gaps in these regions to inform the scope of the first call.

This intensive one-hour session with the project team will explain the design of the funding calls and application process for transnational access, and answer any questions you may have on preparing and submitting your proposals. It will also highlight upcoming training opportunities, including a second webinar on November 27th, 2024, on the use of the new “AQUARIUS Transnational Access Platform”, a user-friendly, online application system for preparing and submitting your call proposals.
These webinars will be an opportunity to engage with the team early and equip you with all the information you need to design, prepare and submit your proposal!
The recordings of both webinars will be made available on the AQUARIUS website.


Don’t miss your chance to be fully prepared for the opening of the first funding call by joining the AQUARIUS brokerage event webinar, on 6th November 2024, 11-12h CET. |
This intensive one-hour session with the project team will explain the design of the funding calls and application process for transnational access, and answer any questions you may have on preparing and submitting your proposals. It will also highlight upcoming training opportunities, including a second webinar on November 27th, 2024, on the use of the new “AQUARIUS Transnational Access Platform”, a user-friendly, online application system for preparing and submitting your call proposals.
These webinars will be an opportunity to engage with the team early and equip you with all the information you need to design, prepare and submit your proposal!
The recordings of both webinars will be made available on the AQUARIUS website.

Get the Scoop on its Scope with Frank Armstrong
Bringing together information on 57 research infrastructures in one online, easy-to-navigate catalogue is no mean feat. You can read all about it in our blog by Frank Armstrong, AQUARIUS project officer from the Marine Institute. Frank worked with the AQUARIUS research infrastructure providers to collate detailed information on the infrastructures’ scientific and technical capabilities, their geographic and thematic scope, training requirements, and operational windows. This will enable call applicants to swiftly identify the most suitable infrastructures for their research needs and align their proposals with the infrastructures’ operational windows.
This is an extremely valuable resource, not just for call applicants, but for anyone interested in Europe’s rich and diverse research infrastructure landscape. Read our blog and discover the catalogue!.
READ THE BLOG!


AQUARIUS is a 14.5-million-euro investment of public funds. We want to deliver a return on that investment. AQUARIUS and its funded transnational access projects will commit to disseminating results and knowledge as early as possible, allowing them to be used by others and preventing duplication of efforts. Open Data is an important part of that. AQUARIUS insists on a mandatory Open Data strategy to ensure that all gathered and generated metadata and data will become part of the leading European and global data (management) infrastructures for quality assurance, long-term stewardship, and wide access and use. This is all detailed in our dedicated Data Management Plan.

Training is an important feature within AQUARIUS. Following the launch of the first call, training webinars and materials will be provided on the use of the dedicated call submission platform and procedures. Successful projects will be offered a range of tailored training programmes to equip them with the necessary scientific and technical support to use the research infrastructures. There will also be training in data management and virtual research environments. All training materials and resources will be made available via the project website.
For early career researchers, opportunities to participate in floating universities and marine internship programmes will be launched in late 2024! Stay tuned for updates.


The AQUARIUS regional brokerage events were all about connection. Connecting to the scientific communities to inform and answer questions about the upcoming calls, connecting scientists with our research infrastructure providers, and connecting potential call applicants with each other to begin to think about potential collaborations. Given the regional scope of AQUARIUS, these events have taken place at the ICES Annual Science Conference in Gateshead, UK (focusing on the Atlantic-Arctic, Baltic & North Sea); at the MonGOOS General Assembly in Malaga, Spain (focusing on the Mediterranean Sea); and finally at the MARBLUE Conference 2024, in Constanta, Romania (focusing on Danube & Black Sea).

To see where else AQUARIUS partners have been spreading the news, visit our Gallery. |

6th November 2024 - AQUARIUS brokerage webinar
Join us virtually at the first AQUARIUS webinar to learn more about the Funding Calls for Transnational Access! The one-hour webinar will take place on Wednesday 6th of November 2024, from 11-12h CET. Secure your spot and register now.
11th November 2024 – First Transnational Access Funding Call opens
Visit aquarius-ri.eu/access.
27th November 2024 – Training webinar on the use of the AQUARIUS Transnational Access Platform
This webinar to train call applicants in navigating the dedicated transnational access platform will take place on Wednesday 27th November, from 11-12h CET. Registration will open soon.
Thank you for reading our first newsletter. If you have any comments of suggestion, please contact us at hello @aquarius-ri.eu.
If you have enjoyed learning about the AQUARIUS project, please help us spread the word and share the subscription link with your networks.