Nanomedicine is the application of nanotechnology to medicine and healthcare. The field takes advantage of the physical, chemical and biological properties of materials at the nanometer scale to be used for a better understanding of the biological mechanisms of diseases at the molecular level, leading to new targets for earlier and more precise diagnostics and therapeutics. Nanomedicine, rated among the six most promising Key Enabling Technologies, is one of the most important emerging areas of health research expected to contribute to one of the strategic challenges that Europe has to face in the future: Provide effective and affordable health care and assure the wellbeing of an increasingly aged population. EuroNanoMed III (ENM III) builds on the foundations of ENM I & II, which launched 7 successful joint calls for proposals since 2009, funded 51 transnational research projects involving 269 partners from 25 countries/regions, and allocated € 45,5 million to research projects from ENM funding agencies. ENM III consortium, reinforced with 12 new partners from Europe, Canada and Taiwan, is committed to fostering the competiveness of European nanomedicine actors taking into account recent changes in the landscape and new stakeholders and challenges, as identified in the SRIA in nanomedicine. The first joint call for proposals will be co-funded by ENM III partners and the EC. After the co-funded call, three additional joint transnational calls will be organized and strategic activities will be accomplished in collaboration with key initiatives in the field. ENM III actions focus on translatability of project results to clinical and industry needs.

CEMEA project´s main objective in the long run is to establish a joint Centre of Excellence for advanced materials application (CEMEA) based on long-term strategic cooperation between VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and University of Helsinki (Finland) on the one hand and Slovak Academy of Sciences (Slovak) on the other. The rationale behind this project is to ensure sustainable financing and quality of research in the field of advanced materials in Slovakia as one of Key Enabling Technologies (KETs). Our goal is to bring and nurture the culture of excellence in Slovakia and to leverage support under HORIZON 2020 and other available funding opportunities. CEMEA project aligns with Smart Specialization Strategy of the Slovak Republic by focusing on areas of specialisation based on best available scientific and research capacities (identified in RIS3) – in particular on research of advanced materials and nanotechnology, biomedicine, biotechnology and sustainable energy as application areas for advanced materials. Results of the new CEMEA Centre´s research will be applicable in areas of economic specialisation identified in RIS3 of the Slovak Republic. Projects long-term goals include: - Become a leading research organization in advanced materials research in Europe with management based solely on principle of excellence - Nurture “culture of excellence” in Slovakia and thus, increase the human potential of the Centre, ensure spreading of excellence and circulation of knowledge in local economy (in Slovakia) - Develop and strengthen international cooperation with Centres of excellence or other excellent organizations in Europe - Improve ranking in selected composite indicators of research excellence (measurable and significant improvement in research and innovation culture)

Motivation for the study: A growing body of evidence suggests that integrated technologies of brain-computer interfaces (BCI) and virtual reality (VR) environments provide a flexible platform for a series of neurorehabilitation therapies, including significant post-stroke motor recovery and cognitive-behavioural therapy. When immersed in such an environment, the subject's perceptual level of social interaction is often impaired due to the sub-optimal quality of the interface lacking the social aspect of human interactions. Project objective: We propose a user-friendly wearable low-power smart BCI system with an ecologically valid VR environment in which both the patient and therapist collaboratively interact via their person-specific avatar representations. On the one hand, the patient voluntarily, and in a self-paced manner, manages their activity in the environment and interacts with the therapist via a BCI-driven mental imagery process. This process is computed and rendered in real-time on an energy efficient wearable device. On the other hand, the therapist's unlimited motor and communication skills allow him to fully control the environment. Thus, the VR environment may be flexibly modified by the therapist allowing for different occupational therapy scenarios to be created and selected following the patient's recovery needs, mental states, and instantaneous responses. Implementation: Careful attention will be paid to balance known neurophysiological evidence of the process with artificial intelligence (AI) within the active BCI protocols to avoid running into conceptual pitfalls. Computed features of EEG signals will serve to monitor the patient's engagement, cognitive workload, or mental fatigue in real-time. These indicators will be combined with observable patient’s performance and behaviours to improve the accuracy of mental state estimation. Exceeding critical mental state levels will signal the therapist to activate appropriate countermeasures in the form of environmental and task changes. Research and technological challenges: To challenge and overcome existing technologies, commercially available head-mounted VR displays (HMD) combined with miniaturized energyefficient microcontroller units will be employed for EEG signal processing, BCI discrimination and on-board classification implementation, and a full-duplex communication with the HMD controllers. Advanced dry EEG sensors suitable to operate and be placed on the scalp without interfering with the HMD will be developed and tested. A novel patient-to-therapist multimodal collaborative environment augmented through VR immersion and by AI monitored patient’s brain activity will be created. By combining these pieces, a low-power wearable BCI-HMD system will be constructed. A series of clinical studies will validate the system.

CIMULACT has as a main objective to add to the relevance and accountability of European research and innovation – Horizon 2020 as well as national - by engaging citizens and stakeholders in co-creation of research agendas based on real and validated societal visions, needs and demands. The project will expand the outlook and debate on STI issues, increase scientific literacy in a broad sense, which includes the understanding of the societal role of Science, Technology and innovation (STI), and create shared understanding between scientific stakeholders, policy-makers and citizens. This multi-actor approach will embrace EU28 plus Norway and Switzerland. The CIMULTACT builds on the principle/conviction that the collective intelligence of society gives Europe a competitive advantage, which may be activated to strengthen the relevance of the European science and technology system. By establishing genuine dialogue between citizens, stakeholders, scientists, and policymakers visions and scenarios for the desirable futures will be developed and debated, and transformed into recommendations and suggestions for research and innovation policies and topics. In short, CIMULACT will ● Create vision and scenarios that connect societal needs with future expected advances in Science and their impact on technology, society, environment etc. in connection to the grand challenges ● Provide concrete input to Horizon 2020 through recommendations and policy options for R&I and simulated calls for the Horizon2020 Work Programmes. ● Engage citizens and stakeholders in a highly participatory debate/consultation/process on scenarios for desirable sustainable futures and research ● Build capacities in citizen and multi-actor engagement in R&I through development, experimentation, training and assessment of methods for engagement ● Facilitate dialogue and shared understanding between policymakers, citizens, and stakeholders ● Reveal the relative merits of the citizen focussed consultations