Associate Professor Robert Mayon attended the 15^th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference (EWTEC 2023) held from September 3^rd until September 7^th 2023, in Bilbao, Spain. Prof. Mayon arrived in Bilbao on September 2^nd. The conference welcome reception and registration ceremony took place on the September 3^rd. From September 4^th until 7^th Prof. Mayon participated in the conference and on September 5^th gave a lecture titled “Spatial focussing of wave energy for improved power capture by an oscillating water column”. Prof. Mayon’s presentation attracted wide interest from the academic community and was attended by approximately 160 persons. Later, the lecture was highly praised by fellow scholars. During the course of the conference, Prof. Mayon actively conducted in-depth exchanges and conversations with fellow scholars and some of the global preeminent academics in the field of marine renewable energy. In addition to technical discussions, conversations on the future directions of marine renewable energy, current impediments to its commercialisation and regulatory actions for the development of wave energy infrastructure were conducted. Prof. Mayon took advantage of the opportunity to highlight some of the ground-breaking research being conducted at the Offshore Renewable Energy Research Centre at Dalian University of Technology and to promote Dalian University of Technology on the global stage.

Prof. Mayon left Bilbao on Friday September 8^th to fly to Dublin, Ireland for an academic visit to Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) at the behest of Dr Gerald Gallagher, Lecturer at the School of Mechanical Engineering, TU Dublin. The duration of the academic visit was from Friday September 8^th until Wednesday 13^th September.  Ireland is a country with some the world’s best marine renewable energy resources and is a leading European country in the development of wave energy. Thus, it was a good opportunity to initiate cooperative efforts with an academic institute in that region. During this period, Prof. Mayon and Dr. Gallagher’s team conducted group discussions, academic reports, laboratory visits and lecture observations. Professor Mayon delivered a short presentation to a group of graduate students titled “The current status of Ocean Wave Energy”. The presentation was well received and stimulated discussions on the development of marine energy both in China and internationally. The possibility of international joint grant applications was discussed as well as opportunity to develop research collaborations. These opportunities are still under consideration. Prof. Mayon left Dublin Ireland on Thursday 14^th September (early morning) to return to China, arriving on Friday 15^th September.

In conclusion, the conference attendance at EWTEC2023 was an excellent opportunity to showcase the cutting edge research being conducted at Dalian University of Technology whilst at the same time observing the research which is ongoing at other universities and academic institutes around the world. Furthermore, it was a good occasion to build networks with the leading academics in the field of marine renewable energy. The academic visit to TU Dublin, Ireland provided an opportunity to find out about the marine engineering research and marine renewable energy work which is ongoing in one of the leading countries in this sector. The possibility of future collaborative work with a university based in this region may significantly benefit the international reputation of Dalian University of Technology.