The HERMES project has the ambitious goal of providing breakthrough technological solutions towards the implementation of ultra-fast (100 Gbit/s) short-range wireless communication systems at room temperature, significantly surpassing existing technologies such as Wi-Fi 7 (40 Gbit/s) and 5G mmWave (10 Gbit/s). Such a technology would be a breakthrough for applications like monitoring, security, or sensing/medical. Most of the current technology limits in terms of data rate, carrier frequency, dimensions, energy efficiency, controllability, and tunability, are intrinsically related to the use of conventional materials and standard architectures. The HERMES project aims at overcoming these limits by demonstrating novel components of this envisaged system (emitters, detectors, and interfaces) that combine the advantages of using graphene and other 2D nanomaterials (high carrier mobilities, tunable charge carrier density, long lifetime of plasma waves) with that of operating in the THz range (high bandwidth and data rates). The HERMES project has the ambition to design, fabricate and validate - a novel THz emitter made by using graphene and a novel THz detector made by using 2D nanomaterials, both integrated into silicon and working at room temperature; - novel all-optical and electro-optical interfaces between THz devices and optical communication links. These goals will be achieved by the HERMES international network of academic and industrial partners, well-balanced in terms of competencies, expertise, and resources. Given the past achievements of the partners, a starting TRL 2 is estimated, while the final one will be TRL 4. The planned research, training, knowledge transfer, and networking actions will foster long-lasting research collaborations, strengthening existing ties (many created within MSCA actions) and establishing new links. The success of the HERMES project has the potential to strengthen Europe’s position in wireless technologies (6G and beyond).

TERRE aims to develop novel geo-technologies to address the competitiveness challenge of the European construction industry in a low carbon agenda. It will be delivered through an inter-sectoral and intra-European coordinated PhD programme focused on carbon-efficient design of geotechnical infrastructure. Industry and Research in the construction sector have been investing significantly in recent years to produce innovative low-carbon technologies. However, little innovation has been created in the geo-infrastructure industry, which is lagging behind other construction industry sectors. TERRE aims to close this gap through a network-wide training programme carried out by a close collaboration of eleven Universities and Research Centres and three SMEs. It is structured to provide a balanced combination of fundamental and applied research and will eventually develop operational tools such as software for low-carbon geotechnical design and a Decision Support System for infrastructure project appraisal. The research fellows will be involved in inter-sectoral and intra-European projects via enrolment in 8 ‘Joint-Awards’ and 7 ‘Industrial’ PhDs. The research fellows will be trained in low-carbon design by developing novel design concepts including eco-reinforced geomaterials, ‘engineered’ vegetation, engineered soil-atmosphere interfaces, biofilms, shallow geothermal energy and soil carbon sequestration. Distinctive features of TERRE are the supervision by an inter-sectoral team and the orientation of the research towards technological applications. Training at the Network level includes the development of entrepreneurial skills via a special programme on ‘Pathways to Research Enterprise’ to support the research fellows in establishing and leading spin-out companies after the end of the project.

The agro-food industry plays an important role in the European Union (EU) economy and is an important sector involved in the achievement of the goals set out by the “Europe 2020” growth strategy. This sector generates about 6% of the EU Gross Domestic Product and employs over 48 million people. Due to new challenges, its economic growth and competitiveness have been under performing compared to the overall EU economy in recent years. One of these challenges is to improve the availability of a skilled workforce. With this project, we addressed three critical issues: (1) too few individuals develop sector-specific qualifications at university level; (2) a gap exists between the skills that are actually required by employers and the curriculum offered by universities; (3) too little communication occurs among relevant stakeholders (e.g., universities, industry and public authorities).To tackle these issues, we formed a strategic partnership composed of European universities (higher education institutions (HEs)) and industry partners that actively pursue communication among relevant stakeholders. In collaboration with all partners, we organised three Intensive Study Programs (ISP) that aimed at equipping graduate students with a set of knowledge and skills that are better aligned with employers’ demands. The objective of the ISP was to facilitate entry of graduate students into the European agro-food job market, and to close the gap between industry needs and the academic curriculum. Moreover, based on the curriculum developed for the ISPs, we produced a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). The MOOC, together with the related dissemination activities, allowed us to broaden the learning community and to attract more interest in the agro-food sector.The HE partners came together based on a shared interest to improve education for graduate students in agro-food economics and related disciplines. This group had the advantage of representing different geographical locations (North, South) and different institution sizes (small, medium and large). Each partner brought their own (academic and private sector) expertise and knowledge with regard to the agro-food supply chain. Our group was composed of seven partners: Five HEs representing five different EU Member States: Technische Universität München (Germany) University College Dublin (Ireland) Wageningen University (The Netherlands) Scotland’s Rural College (Great Britain) Universita degli Studi di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale (Italy)and two private sector firms involved in the food supply chain: BayWa AG from Germany, a large international corporation Beikircher Grünland GmbH/S.r.l., an Italian SMEThe project supported graduate students in their career development and increased interest in the agro-food sector. The project contributed to the EU’s Education and Training 2020 strategic framework (ET 2020) objectives by increasing student and teacher mobility and by improving teaching quality. The MOOC was developed to improve learning effectiveness and reach a wider audience by broadening the learning community. Moreover, the emphasis on international aspects (including cultural differences) of the ISP and the MOOC raised participants’ awareness of intercultural differences. European universities’ and companies’ competitiveness at the international level were also strengthened by the project. It contributed to attracting “bright minds” and mitigating the brain-drain away from Europe. The MOOC (i.e., based on the experience from the ISP and including input from experts in their fields) showcases the excellence of European teaching and research to a global audience, and thus makes the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) more attractive world-wide.