A two-day get together opened up the SKILLSEA project and its work plan with the participation of the partners. The kick-off meeting took place from 6 February to 7 February 2019 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, at the STC group, the location of the project coordinator. The aim of the meeting was that the project participants get an insight to all work packages and to have a holistic view of the SKILLSEA. Each work package leader presented the next action items for its work package. After each WP leader’s presentation, attendees broke into small groups to discuss and brainstorm ways to address the issues raised and put forward the action plan for each WP for the first six months.