SARGEX secondments connect marine research and collaboration in Malta

Blue EcoTech has hosted its first SARGEX secondments, welcoming researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) for a programme combining coastal field visits, scientific exchange and meetings with Malta’s research and innovation community.

Mercè Llugany and Laura Tusell, biologists and Associate Professors at UAB’s Faculty of Biosciences, joined Alexia Massa, CEO and Founder of Blue EcoTech Ltd., to strengthen their collaboration on marine biomass valorisation.

The secondments marked a milestone for Blue EcoTech, providing an opportunity to exchange expertise and explore how research on marine resources could lead to useful applications.

From the laboratory to Malta’s coastline

The programme included visits to research facilities and coastal field sites, bringing the partners’ scientific discussions into contact with Malta’s marine environment.

At Ċirkewwa Marine Park, the researchers explored the coast with site manager Gayle Murphy, visiting Posidonia seagrass meadows and searching for Sargassum. The visit offered a closer look at local marine habitats and the context in which marine biomass research takes place.

Building connections beyond the consortium

Alongside the field visits, the team met representatives of Xjenza Malta and the University of Malta’s Knowledge Transfer Office. Discussions with University of Malta professors explored possibilities for future research collaboration, funding opportunities and new partnerships.

Contacts during the programme included Lili Kankaya, Horizon Europe Senior Executive, and Prof. Joseph A. Buhagiar from the University of Malta’s Department of Biology.

These exchanges helped connect the UAB–Blue EcoTech collaboration with Malta’s wider research community, opening conversations that could support further joint work.

A foundation for continued collaboration

By combining scientific exchange with field experience and stakeholder meetings, the secondments strengthened links between academic research and business expertise in marine biomass valorisation.

For SARGEX, such visits provide time and space for partners to share knowledge, understand each other’s capabilities and identify opportunities to take their research forward together.