SPIDoc’s DN stems from the need to prepare for emerging viruses enabling a fast response, as became evident lately. Basically, better knowledge of the dynamic nature of viral structures is required and fundamental to combat with appropriate treatments. In this perspective, several technologies were developed for structural biology, including a cutting-edge approach combining mass spectrometry (MS) and X-rays for single particle imaging (SPI) in MS SPIDOC. Despite these advances, a major bottleneck that the scientific community will face in coming years will be the lack of expertise with a broad knowledge from theory, instrument development and application relevant to structural biology with MS. SPIDoc’s therefore aims to train the next generation of scientists with such expertise by a dedicated intersectoral training programme. SPIDoc’s projects are highly interlinked and the proposed training programme aims to provide the doctoral candidates with the basic and advanced knowledge to build a common interdisciplinary language, to work in teams and to acquire deep knowledge by a combination of lectures and practical sessions. An important aspect will be given to data management and the establishment of currently lacking standards for native MS metadata. The research training is complemented by transferrable skills courses, setting the basis for progressing through the doctoral studies as well as for future career progression. Within these modules, training on equal opportunities and unconscious bias are included, shaping the future generation towards creating fair workplaces. Special attention will be paid to green-practice measures from the everyday practice in laboratories and offices up to the institutional level. By including developments from computational theory to instrumentation, the SPIDoc’s beneficiaries and associated partners will closely work together to advance cutting-edge technologies and apply them towards fast response.

While governments act as transactional providers of uniform and static services, the challenges of contemporary society require different models of service design and delivery that are built on long-term engagement, participation, and co-creation with local communities and citizens. Digital Civics posits the use of technology in the provision of relational models of public services by empowering citizens and non-state actors to co-create, take an active role in shaping agendas, making decisions about service provision, and making such provisions sustainable and resilient. DCitizens builds on those principles to achieve 5 main objectives: O1) Enhance ITI research profile and innovation competence in Digital Civics; O2) Provide training to Staff and Early Stage Researchers to build critical mass at the interface of research, local government, and the private/third sectors; O3) Establish a leading pole of excellence in Digital Civics; O4) Strengthen and expand the collaborative network between the Twinning partners; and O5) Establish a Digital Civics Research and Innovation Agenda in line with the SMART Specialization Strategy for Lisbon. We identified four interconnected Strategic Areas in Digital Civics to be strengthened with the Twinning partners’ support that provide solid ground to establish the methodology and action plan to reach these objectives. The Strategic Areas are: 1) Community-based Research Methods, 2) Emerging Technologies, 3) Design Justice, and 4) Civics, Policy, and Economic Models. Based on these areas, the project’s work plan includes a staff-exchange programme, organisation of joint scientific/training events, activities to enhance the profile of young researchers, training of research management staff, and a small citizen-led research project. The consortium includes partners from one widening country (ITI - Portugal), and three leading institutions in the field: IIT (Italy), University of Siegen (Germany), and University of Northumbria (UK).

CONTEXTInter-personal communication and international cooperation play a key role in education and, in a broader sense, in active citizenship. These opportunities should be equally available to all, promoting social inclusion. This is a concern of modern society and a key issue in European Education. However, the access to these opportunities by disabled people is constrained, in particular for deaf people due to the barriers they face in daily communication. These are facts that severely compromise the development of creative, emotional and social skills in deaf students. Barriers to education limit future opportunities. Any contribution to tear these barriers down promotes equity.The I-ACE project established an innovative infrastructure to promote fluid communication with, and between, deaf students from different European countries. This infrastructure includes an automatic European Sign Language Translator allowing the automatic bi-directional translation between sign language and written speech in six European sign languages thus reducing the communication gap and contributing to promote the access to education and a better quality of life of deaf students.The I-ACE project transfers innovative research results and puts them to the service of the European community.OBJECTIVESThe I-ACE project aims to promote the access of deaf students to education and citizenship. The specific objectives are:(a) shorten the barriers to the inclusion of deaf students in education(b) promote active citizenship of the European deaf communityPARTICIPANTSThe partnership of 7 full partners and 6 associated partners includes 5 higher education institutions, the European Association of Career Guidance and the “Provedoria Municipal do Cidadão com Deficiência” from Câmara Municipal do Porto, 2 schools, one Education School, an Association of Sign Language Interpreters and 2 Deaf Associations. Every partner institution expects to actively participate in the process of social inclusion and European citizenship.ASSOCIATED PARTNERS are end-users and the main stakeholders benefiting from the I-ACE outputs. They have key roles in the project and are our gateway to sustainability. The consortium implemented pilot installations at the Metro of Porto and in special needs schools in all partners’ countries to test I-ACE outputs in real scenarios.METHODOLOGY AND PROJECT ACTIVITIESThe project work plan covered an initial preparation phase aimed at implementing the required management framework and performing a comprehensive study of the challenges faced by deaf students. At the implementation phase we transferred the results from the VirtualSign research project adapting them to new sign languages.VirtualSign is a bi-directional translator between written Portuguese and Portuguese Sign Language, a research product developed at the applicant institution. In concrete, we extended it to support other European sign languages, a product we call the European Sign Language Translator, and we have developed applications to assist deaf students in the classroom and in their daily life.We organized certified staff training sessions in each country to train staff in the fundamental of sign languages and on the operation of the I-ACE applications.At the closure of the project we evaluated the European Sign Language Translator through several pilot installations in schools and at the Metro of Porto, a public attendance service. The results from the pilot installations and the outcomes of the project were presented to the media and to general public at an open session.RESULTS AND IMPACTSIn order to disseminate project activities and results, we have provided information to the stakeholders through the media, online social networks, email, participation in conferences and other events and meetings. I-ACE raised the interest of the media (newspapers, radio and TV broadcasts)LONG TERM BENEFITSThe I-ACE project promotes inclusive school by transferring to the civil society innovative assistive technology research products that facilitate the communication between/with deaf people. I-ACE provides unique conditions to promote social inclusion, active citizenship and an improved educational experience to the European deaf community.Given our former experience with the VirtualSign impact in the Portuguese institutions related to the deaf community we expect that the I-ACE outputs will become more and more requested by public services, schools, museums, tourism offices, airports, police stations and many other places where fluent international communication is important.

GreenPaths addresses the complex and multi-dimensional nature of the planned transition. Based on an enhanced understanding of key issues and challenges influencing the transitions and an in-depth review and synthesis of the latest and most relevant research, GreenPaths will enable the development and adoption of more coherent and effective policy strategies and instruments, furthering the positive outcomes and reducing the negative impacts on environmental sustainability and social well-being. To improve the design, governance and implementation of transition strategies, GreenPaths pays particular attention to the European Green Deal, the Fit for 55 package, and the actions funded by the Just Transition Fund and the European Social Fund+. Key objectives include: 1) mapping and explaining links between policies, environmental sustainability and social well-being; 2) identify and assess indicators and tools to analyse interactions between climate interdependencies, environmental sustainability and social well-being; 3) develop systemic, in-depth and innovative understandings of green transition policies and approaches vis-à-vis social impacts and trade-offs; 4) offer new insights into the relevance and significance of institutional, regulatory and legal frameworks affecting the green transitions; 5) produce policy recommendations for desirable changes in European and national policies through a multi-stakeholder backcasting approach and the participatory design of lighthouse projects and facilitate an enhanced civil society-stakeholder-policy dialogue on green transition pathways. These objectives will be achieved by the well positioned, consortium with long experience on the topic through a comprehensive mixed-methods approach, to be tested and grounded in a series of case studies, which lead into a more participatory and influential engagement with policymakers, civil society organisations and other relevant stakeholders.

The increase global energy demand and environment impact of traditional energy resources poses serious challenge to human health, energy secure, and environment protection. During the recent 2015 United Nations conference on climate change in Paris (COP 21), 195 member states have signed the deal that is designed to limit greenhouse gas emissions and prevent an average global temperature increase of 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times. In this context, electrocatalysis has attracted tremendous attention worldwide as a sustainable and efficient energy system. Promising applications of electrocatalysis for energy storage and conversion are electrolysis, fuel cells, metal/air batteries, and CO2 conversion. Both technologies play crucial role in the future sustainable societies. Thus, huge research efforts have been dedicated to improving the electrochemical reactions involved in these technologies. The main training objective of Euro-NANOCAT is the improvement of the career perspectives of young researchers, including their inter-sectoral employability, by training them at the forefront of research in the field of non-precious and earth abundant electrocatalysts for CO2, oxygen and hydrogen evolutions. We will focus on some important reactions for valorization of CO2, energy storage, and hydrogen economy: oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), hydrogen reduction reaction (HRR), and CO2 conversion reactions. In particular, we will investigate: noble metal-free catalysts, heart abundant-based catalysts, nanostructured interface, nanomaterials, and carbocatalysts. Euro-NANOCAT aims to be the first integrated training program within Innovative Training Networks – European Training Networks in the area of non-precious and earth abundant electrocatalyst nanostructured materials by combining “Knowledge Triangle” and "Energy Triangle" approaches. We consider applying MSCA-ITN-2017: Innovative Training Networks – European Training Networks, deadline of 10th January 2017, in which we will request a budget about 3,186 k€ corresponding to 540 researcher-months. It corresponds to 15 Early-Stage Reseachers (ESRs) during 36 months.