The goal of the RADIOBLOCKS project is to achieve a maximal boost for the European major world-leading research infrastructures in radio astronomy, which over the years have invested heavily in maintaining existing facilities as well as in substantial upgrade programmes, after identifying common challenges towards their mid- and long-term scientific visions. In this project, the institutes responsible of these facilities join forces, together with partners from industry and academia, in order to develop “common building blocks” for technological solutions beyond state-of-the-art, that will enable a broad range of new science and enhance European scientific competitiveness. They share the need to continuously improve their capabilities in order to enable new science: sensitivity, field of view, bandwidth, angular, time and frequency resolution, commensality and on-sky time, reaction time and RFI mitigation. Engagement with industry to co-develop advanced technologies will increase the partners’ technological levels and strengthen their market positions, creating a true European innovation system. This project carries out carefully targeted development work and addresses common aspects in the complete data chain, categorizing this in four phases: Novel detectors and components, digital receivers, transport and correlator, and data (post)processing. We will design and demonstrate common building blocks based on cutting-edge technologies, that will be enablers and extenders in the areas most critical to the RIs, and can and will be used for upgrades of several RIs. The building blocks will be new instrument components and advanced digital solutions based on newly available (HPC/AI optimized) hardware. This approach will enable a tremendous increase of the science delivery potential of Europe’s major radio astronomical observatories, for science cases that are high on their long-term agendas, aimed at the widest possible science community in Europe and beyond.

Transplantation of autologous split-thickness skin -the epidermis with a tiny layer of dermis- remains the golden standard for various skin wounds like burns and large trauma. This treatment, however, comes with a number of serious drawbacks, including pain, mobility-limiting contractures and disfiguring scars. The SkinTERM consortium will address wound healing in a completely different way, recapitulating (certain aspects of) skin embryonic development in adults, and aiming for regeneration rather than repair. Skin organogenesis will be induced by key elements taken from the extracellular matrix of foetal and non-scarring species and by employing (stem) cells from relevant cellular origins. The starting point for the study is the remarkable capability of early foetal skin and skin from the spiny mouse (Acomys) to heal perfectly without scars/ contraction and with appendices such as hair follicles. Novel biomaterials and skin substitutes will be developed and evaluated. In order to effectively embrace this new approach, the PhD students need to have knowledge in key elements of basic science, regenerative medicine and biomaterial sciences. As translation to medical devices and especially advanced therapy medicinal products is currently too limited, we will give the PhD students a solid theoretical and practical foundation on topics like regulatory affairs, GMP and GCP, as well as secondments in industry. Driven by both the enthusiasm to gain basic scientific insights and the need for efficacious and innovative therapies, the students will acquire expertise through cutting edge scientific projects and will be trained by leading experts in all required skills to further develop their scientific findings into real life-science products. The SkinTERM program will thus create a new generation of entrepreneurial, multidisciplinary and inter-sectorially trained scientists with excellent career perspectives in either academia, industry or government.