<< Background >>The Food & Drink industry is the EU largest manufacturing sector in terms of turnover, value added and employment. Despite of market turmoils also due to Covid-19, it remains stable and dominates the EU external trade. Higher Education and training activities in the food sectors are growing in the EU largely dominated by conventional study programmes and teaching methodologies that in general do not allow the achievement of competences and skills needed by the current and future job market.<< Objectives >>The ASKFOOD main aim was to create a permanent knowledge sharing alliance between businesses, business associated organisations and Universities in the food and food-related sectors. Establishing such an alliance, the ASKFOOD consortium: (1) created the necessary frame for collaboration, (2) converted innovative concepts into new tools to be provided within this frame(3)tested and applied innovative training methodologies(4)ensured sustainability by establishing a permanent alliance<< Implementation >>The project has:-implemented a series of virtual tools to early discovery and anticipate trends and related emerging skills-implemented an interactive platform and dynamic networking for multisector knowledge sharing and co-creation-improve training models, by launching disruptive, learner-led and cross-industry training schemes, i.e. Reverse incubator -set up common tools and organizational frame that will guarantee the sustainability of the network: the permanent Observatory.<< Results >>•Cross-industry knowledge platforms (Knowledge and Training Hub and Clusters) •Open Innovation framework to modernize education/training (ASKFOOD DBTE)•Interactive repository of emerging skills and professional profiles in the food sector in a forward-looking perspective (Interactive Atlas) so to forecast future skill needs (Forecast Aggregator) •Acceleration and growth hacking solutions (Reversed Incubator, ASKFOOD Garage Labs)•Permanent ASKFOOD Observatory

Sustainable agriculture strategies have become central to European and global orientations as the demand of food increases with the rising world population. Current technologies qualitatively drive the application of Nitrogen (N)-fertilizers to stressed field areas but cannot precisely modulate the needed amount, resulting in dangerous N dispersion, ecological and economic losses. RE-IMAGINE-CROPS envisions applying basic plant science into crop management by quantitative “in-field” measurements of biophysical processes occurring at tissue and cellular level. The consortium will implement the first real-time in-field portable multimodal multiscale Positron Emission Tomography (PET)-Multiphoton Endoscope (ME) technology. PET measures the metabolic processes in the crops at the scale of hundreds of micrometers, while guiding the ME system to visualize functional mechanisms at a cellular level. The aim is to tailor the amount of fertilizer to be used by enabling measurement of functional processes reflecting the local and systemic crop signal pathways triggered by N-fertilizer shortly after application. RE-IMAGINE-CROPS involves real-time PET reconstruction, hydrodynamic modelling, optical fiber transmission optics, and features identification in multiple scales. It enables a new multimodal, mobile technology for the first time, with unprecedented spatial resolution (0.6 mm;1um) and real-time functionality at a rate of (2;10) Hz. These are enabled by a multimodal PET-ME tracer based on the Lifeact-Venus protein labeled with 89Zr. RE-IMAGINE-CROPS brings together eight institutions with leading scientists and cross-disciplinary expertise. Among them, EURO-BIOIMAGING ERIC and BFEDU, a large agrifood enterprise, will boost the impact and dissemination of this novel technology in to the European scientific and industrial landscape. On this basis, RE-IMAGINE-CROPS has the potential to support and shape the essential priorities in the EU’s future sustainable crop management.

TRAILS4SOIL will co-create 5 Living Labs (LLs) across 9 European countries, encompassing 100 experimentation sites including 11 lighthouses. This initiative aims to address the urgent need for sustainable soil management in Europe by fostering stakeholder collaboration and overcoming barriers to the widespread implementation of better soil management farming systems. The project will develop pathways for implementing economic, policy, technical, and social measures to drive the transition towards a resilient and sustainable agri-food system grounded on healthy soils. Through innovative and participatory research in diverse agroecosystems, TRAILS4SOIL will demonstrate the potential of Regenerative and Conservation Agriculture Practices (ReCAP) to achieve the objectives of the EU Soil Mission. By actively engaging local communities in a multi-actor approach process TRAILS4SOIL will provide tailored scientific knowledge and technical guidelines, that will inspire and empower farmers and other stakeholders to promote sustainable land management improving soil health. The interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary expertise of the consortium, which includes 22 partners among universities, research centres and farmer associations, will ensure the achievement of the proposed objective. TRAILS4SOIL will advance the understanding of soil health by integrating cutting-edge technologies to facilitate the widespread adoption of sustainable soil management solutions.

The VRSciT project consists of conducting a virtual educational visit to locations of cultural, social and natural interest of each partner involved, from Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Lithuania, by using Virtual Reality (VR) immersion and interaction techniques to provide users a unique learning experience. VR technology adoption removes the barriers of remote visualization of environments making possible for everyone to experience a high educational value through digitalization. The VRSciT project specifically aims to explore new approaches in educational tourism, such as 3D modeling together with 360º immersive VR environments to build innovative virtual educational scenes, from four different countries. To achieve this objective, several products will be developed by the partners, namely: (i) Share a literature review of VR technology.(ii) Elaboration of an interactive virtual reality experience - 'VRSciT SPOT´.(iii) Production of an Online Web Toolkit. (iv) Training events to share best practices using VR technology in educational tourism(v) Multiplier event to promote the project's resultsPeople who experience the VRSciT SPOT will be able to make an immersive trip, not only in the landscapes of the Northeast region of Trás-os-Montes, but also to travel through the landscapes of the regions of the other partners, thus increasing the visibility of all the contemplated regions and a clear confirmation of the European-wide partner entities. Providing access to scientific information and educational activities for people with different social backgrounds will allow less favored people, such as people with less economic power or physical disabilities, to access recent technologies, promoting inclusion by allowing unrestrained access and interaction with technology that otherwise would not be possible. So the target group of VRScriT project is the adult learners that visit all the partners and will have access to scientific and educational tourism with new interactive learning environments. The project will produce a broad impact through the delivery and the publication of the Intellectual Outputs, the implementation of training events, and the dissemination plan. The continuous innovation of the Institutions in terms of the touristic and scientific offer, one of the vital components of the European Union's policy for lifelong adult learning, will, in general, enable the visitors to: (i) in the specific field of adult education:improve the basic skills of individuals by managing new technology and information;deep/consolidate specific skills (in terms of cultural literacy, science and technology, European citizenship, interculturality, and community development);integrate of experienced knowledge in their lives;promote language skills;improve personal motivation and critical reflection. (ii) in the creation of new opportunities:disseminate of best international practices (through the creation of local and regional dynamics that enhance technological innovation opportunities and also in the development of entrepreneurial and sustainable projects for the community in general);stimulate the development of innovative activities (contribution to the expression of scientific and technological based companies);stimulate the construction of a more active, responsible and interventional citizenship (creation/reinforcement of individual cognitive, social and cultural background, in a structured and oriented way).The consortium believes that this project will enable the target groups, to not only acquire and consolidate skills at the level of adult education, but also to improve their skills in European citizenship, interculturality, employment, and community development, emphasizing the promotion of learning, digital literacy, debate and sharing of scientific and technological knowledge.The whole project idea is based on a transnational comparison of approaches, issues, solutions and good practice in the implementation of innovative strategies for educational tourism using informal innovative procedures. Furthermore, it is expected that each partner will have the opportunity to take advantage of research in the introduced novelties and build on the project’s achievements.After completion, the project will deliver guidelines for the design of future collaborations and will present the capabilities that the advanced technologies of Virtual reality are offering in bringing modern technology to society. This way the project will make a valuable contribution to the modernization of Europe Digitalization using focusing on an informal pedagogical approach combined with digital technologies.

WhyNotDry will deepen our knowledge on reversible drying in cells and germplasm toward the development of a dry biobanking as an alternative to the current freezing in Liquid Nitrogen (LN). LN is expensive, requires dedicated facilities and power supply, and has a high CO2 footprint. WhyNotDry will achieve its aims through a multidisciplinary, intersectoral, international network of scientists that will: i) Develop a drying/rehydration platform using naturally desiccation-tolerant midge (Polypedilum vanderplanki) Pv11 cell lines; ii) Identify the best combination of naturally occurring xeroprotectants (xero=dry) from desiccation-tolerant insect cell line and the best performing water subtraction platform. iii) To use the best xeroprotectants mix and the drying/rehydration protocol for mammalian cells/germplasm. vi) Develop a prototype for controlled dehydration of microvolumes of cell. The R&I activities leading to these aims will be carried out by knowhow sharing through Staff Exchanges between: 3 EU academies, 2 EU SMEs, 2 international partners (Japan, Thailand). Outcomes of WhyNotDry will be incorporated into a cheap, environmentally friendly, and easy biobanking for biodiversity conservation, assisted reproduction, stem cell/personalized medicine. Successful development of this technology will set the basis for a radically new, ‘green’ biobanking paradigm, simplifying the maintenance and shipping practices in life sciences, with enormous reduction in costs and carbon footprint. Moreover, knowledge generated in WhyNotDry would be applicable to other fields such as agriculture, environmental science, food processing, and the pharmaceutical industry, where elective or enforced (by climate change) drying is dealt with. Finally, WhyNotDry will empower young scientists with transferable skills, ensuring career prospects in academia/industry, and strengthen the international/sectorial network between disciplines, boosting European excellence.