UPCT

Population needs for Internet connectivity rely on carrier networks currently challenged by the ever-increasing network complexity, traffic volume, and dynamicity. Software Defined Networking (SDN) has entered the networking scene as an enabling technology that brings programmability to the network by decoupling the forwarding data-plane actions from the logic control-plane decisions through application programming interfaces. However, the variety of controllers governing different network segments and interfaces for control and management endangers actual carrier-grade SDN deployments. INvestigating SDN Programmability ImpRovING optical South- and North- bound Interfaces (INSPIRING-SNI) aims to enhance programmability in SDN ecosystems addressing two critical aspects. First, INSPIRING-SNI will control, manage and operate technology diverse environments through the SouthBound Interface (SBI) relying on innovative industry-driven standardization initiatives such as OpenROADM and the expertise of Dr. Garrich in experimental SDN applications for optical networks. Second, INSPIRING-SNI will develop an optimization-as-a-service (OaaS) framework for dynamic optimisation of multilayer backbone/metro networks (IP over optical) jointly with metro/access segments via the NorthBound Interface (NBI), greatly widening Dr. Garrich's background and empowering his career perspectives. The OaaS framework will be based on the open-source network planning tool Net2Plan, developed within the host group, that is receiving a growing international attention and funding from industry and academia. INSPIRING-SNI will include a strategic inter-sectorial secondment at TID to experimentally validate the SBI and NBI proposals and to provide to the host and Dr. Garrich a realistic perspective on telecom operator needs and challenges. INSPIRING-SNI is in-line with an expression of interest of the host institution and EU Research and Innovation effort on ICT.

Since 2008, European Waste Framework Directive establishes End-of-Life Tyres (ELTs) mandatory managing. In Europe, more than 3 million ELTs tonnes are generated every year. Regarding material recovery, primary recycling treatments produce ELTs granulated rubbers. Current market R&D efforts are focused on adapt downcycling applications to these granulated rubbers, featuring an open-loop recycling, since it doesn´t recover rubber to be introduced as raw material in rubber industry. Hence, not exploiting the great potential of ELTs rubbers, leading to a non-resource efficient and less European competitiveness. VALUE-RUBBER proposes a game-changing idea, betting for the high risk innovation of fully recovering rubber from ELTs to be used as a real substitute of virgin rubbers. Consortium partners are working together in order to assure a successful development and further industrial stage of DevulCore, an innovative recycling technology of rubber from ELTs which achieves the complete rubber devulcanization. The obtained product is a recycled rubber, Value-Rubber, with a maximized potential to be used as a full substitute of virgin rubbers in conventional manufacturing processes. DevulCore technology is already demonstrated in relevant environment obtaining high quality products. The consortium business vision includes the commercialization of the DevulCore technology and the Value-Rubber products as well as the exploitation of the 1st DevulCore Plant. Our market-driven innovation will contribute to the EU circular economy and EU raw materials challenge, while it will both create a new market for ELT recyclers and fulfill demands of EU rubber goods manufacturers. It is expected an important growth for consortium companies, obtaining a total turnover above €178.24 M, a total profit of €41.56 M and a ROI of 878% in 2022-2025 period. Some expected benefits are: Savings for European end-users of €965.62 M, creation of 1,802 new jobs and 4.64 Mtonnes of CO2 savings.

The overall aim is to expand the impact and adoption of Space Tech by bringing together Space start-ups, SMEs, entrepreneurs and the IoT ecosystem to increase commercial relevance of the technologies across industrial sectors and accelerate their access to market and/or scaling. We will achieve this by designing and orchestrating a collaborative ecosystem with adapted tools and instruments that will position a greater number of space-enabled technologies in industrial markets. This ecosystem will be based on a blended community of IoT and Space that brings together a range of stakeholders, large and small, from academia, business and the public sector not just across the three local ecosystems that are directly taking part. The specific objectives are to: • Identify promising tech generated within the European space ecosystem that are susceptible to being used in Industry. • Identify SMEs, tech start-ups and founders who could benefit from space technologies through a range of local activities. • Design and deliver an acceleration programme for early stage space and IoT tech companies. • Facilitate access to innovative financial support to them consolidate their market offering and grow. • Increase the commercialisation and industry adoption of space tech. • Create a Europe-wide network of Space entrepreneurs . We will start by scouting promising space technologies that can be brought to market from across Europe. Their market relevance will be explored by stakeholders through locally delivered design studios. The ventures with the greatest potential will then be supported through an intensive 3+3 month acceleration programme than will build the founders capacity and further enable them to build and implement their go to market strategies. Over the 2 year period, t240 space and data technologies will be explored; the market potential of 90 of these will be scrutinised and 30-45 startups/ventures will have been helped to scale.

MERLIN aims to support ICT researchers, SMEs and startups across to realise the full potential and impact of their research and development outputs by crafting them into innovations and achieving market validation using modern needs-first, market-led methodologies like Business Model Canvas, Customer Discovery, Lean Hardware, etc. The project will provide training, networking and follow-on support through 43 practical workshops, 4 webinars (on SME growth and PPP business models), 5 international conference workshops and 8 meetups with potential customers and commercial partners. MERLIN will have over 1250 attendees at in-person workshops and meetups across the four principal nodes of Madrid (ES), Vilnius (LT), Poznań (PL) and Cambridge (UK) and the secondary nodes of Berlin (DE), Warsaw (PL), Tallinn (EE), Bucharest (RO), international webinars and international ICT conferences in Europe. For sustainability, and to increase the participants’ success in bringing to market their innovation, MERLIN will integrate participants with existing national (e.g. Innovate UK, Enterprise Ireland, CDTI) and European initiatives (Startup Europe, ERDF, EFSI, etc.) designed to support early entrepreneurship, product development, market access, seed financing and microfinancing for continued support on their journey to market validation and company growth. The project will also identify and promote high-potential innovators through attendance at Startup Europe events to access other European startup ecosystems, entrepreneurs, investors and accelerators. These activities will see over 160 new business model canvases developed, 1040 individual 1-on-1s with potential commercial customers, serial entrepreneurs and business angels, 250 applications to regional, national and international support actions and the creation of 30 new ventures in the lifetime of the project with an anticipated further 60-100 in the following 3 years’ post project, creating over 1200 jobs in the medium-term.

Accelerating Entrepreneurial Learning across European Regions There are a number of profound challenges facing the European Union. Despite the single market being in existence for quite some time, start-ups and entrepreneurs tend not to think European wide and business scaling is very fragmented. The entrepreneurial ecosystem is also fragmented and not joined up between countries. Unemployment levels are very high, with high rates of over 50% of under-25s among Mediterranean countries, such as Spain and Greece. Entrepreneurship in Europe lags behind the US, in terms of effectiveness, scale and impact. Set in this context, the focus of the proposal is to develop more ICT entrepreneurs and this is adopted as the key objectives, which is the core outcomes required from the Horizon 2020 ICT 35 call. Specifically this programme sets out to train ICT entrepreneurs to be ‘incubator ready’ and this is informed by research into current practice in incubators across Europe. The Horizon 2020 is an ideal opportunity for Europe to enable a different breed of European ICT entrepreneurs. Some of the characteristics of achieving this include the need to spend an appropriate amount of time to allow ICT entrepreneurs develop the commercial skills, as well as the technical proposition. This project will develop a network of ICT entrepreneurship creative physical and virtual spaces and coordinate European wide intensive entrepreneurial action training events called ‘Start-up Scrums’ between consortia members with international teams. The programme will cultivate a European entrepreneurial mind-set and pilot a ‘Born European Enterprise’ annual event. It is recognised that ICT enterprises take time to develop the technology. The proposal sets out to engage with 300 ICT students using an intensive training package over 4 months, starting with the ‘start-up Scrums’, continuing with virtual support via the EU Virtual Incubator and culminating with the best teams competing in the ‘Born European Enterprise Challenge’. A key element of the programme is student exchange as well as staff exchange, which will enable cross-fertilisation. This proposal is thematically focused on creating ‘Born European Enterprises’ and fulfills the three objectives of the Horizon 2020 2014 ICT 35 a, b & c call: a pan European competition (across over 10 MS), summer schools (Start-up Scrums) and supporting the creation of new virtual and physical ICT creative spaces (Athens). The ICT teams will have opportunities to pursue their new ventures in a number of European incubators, within the consortia. The action will combine ICT physical and virtual entrepreneurship spaces, which facilitate European collaboration and on-going support after workshop events.