The IPERION HS proposal aims at establishing and operating an Integrating Activity for a distributed pan-European research infrastructure, opening key national research facilities of recognised excellence in heritage science. Heritage science is a young and cross-cutting scientific domain embracing a wide range of research disciplines enabling deeper understanding of the past and improved care for the future of heritage. Since 2016, heritage science is included in the ESFRI Roadmap as one of the strategic areas in the domain of Social Sciences and Humanities, where it is represented by the ESFRI Project E-RIHS (European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science). IPERION HS will provide to the advanced community of heritage science - built and reinforced with the support of four EU projects spanning across four Framework Programmes, approaching 20 years of constant service to the heritage domain - a further level of pan-European integration, in view of the establishment of E-RIHS. IPERION HS is a further step towards a unified scientific approach to the most advanced European instruments for the analysis, interpretation, preservation, documentation and management of heritage objects in the fields of art history, conservation, archaeology and palaeontology. IPERION HS core activity will be offering Trans-National Access to a wide range of high-level scientific instruments, methodologies, data and tools for advancing knowledge and innovation in the domain. In addition, IPERION HS will contribute joint innovative research for a better interoperability not limited to data, but including sample materials, methods and instruments. The networking activities in the project aim at reinforcing the binding in the group and at creating a sense of belonging for heritage science researchers which will exploit the RI services. IPERION HS consists of partners from 22 Countries clustered around their national nodes.

Marine polychaete worms (Annelida) are key organisms in marine benthic ecosystems. They have important roles from decomposers to consumers and due to their burrowing lifestyle, they actively participate in oxygenation of sediments maintaining benthic ecosystem health. Polychaetes are known to host protistan symbionts (gregarines), which themselves are infected my microsporidian parasites, forming a tripartite symbiosis. Symbiotic interactions have been of fundamental importance in ecological and evolutionary processes through the history of life, and have ultimately shaped the biodiversity we witness today. However, the polychaete-gregarine-microsporidian tripartite interaction has not been studied before and it is unclear how these interactions affect the polychaetes. Consequently, it is unclear how the the tripartite symbiosis might affect the functioning of benthic ecosystems. One reason behind this knowledge gap is the difficulty of applying experimental approaches with marine hosts and symbionts that are unculturable. With PolyPro3 specifically aiming to resolve the nature of the tripartite symbiosis and the diversity of the interaction by using state-of-the-art molecular methods combined with traditional ecological fieldwork, I will bring a significant step forward in addressing this key gap of knowledge. I will use differential transcriptomics and quantitative methods to disentangle the interaction, and a large spatial scale field sampling across the opening of the Baltic Sea combined with metabarcoding approach to describe the diversity and specificity of polychaete-gregarine-microsporidian tripartite symbiosis. PolyPro3 will also provide novel insights into the impacts of the tripartite symbiosis on the functioning and stability of important benthic habitats and provide effective means for investigation of other marine symbioses. Lastly, PolyPro3 significantly adds to the knowledge on neglected biodiversity of polychaete associated marine protists.

Recent events have demonstrated the need for readiness for medical supply and equipment rapid manufacturing repurposing. Eur3ka will deliver a trusted and unique capability to plug and collectively respond to a sudden demand increased in a coordinated and effective manner at unprecedented scale. Eur3ka mission is to bring together most recent R&I results in (1) Industry 4.0 standards, open automation modular manufacturing production line enablers; (2) industrial international common data space enablers and digital infrastructures; (3) global on-demand and manufacturing as a service platforms; (4) connected and smarter supply networks, and global medical supplies and equipment repositories; (5) the vibrant European and Global network of manufacturing DIH network innovation services and open experimental facilities. The main ambition of Eur3ka is to enable and facilitate global and fair access to (1) a Plug & Respond (P&R) repurposing resource coordination framework for pandemic crisis response, (2) a common open standardized modular manufacturing reference architecture and solutions, and (3) top digitally sovereign cross-sectorial manufacturing networks and capacities that should allow to connect global manufacturing and supply chain capabilities and medical knowledge on-demand and as-a-Service across the globe in an IP-responsive manner to ensure rapid manufacturing repurposing for an increased and sudden demand of medical supplies and equipment. Eur3ka builds and extends the existing Global Network of Advanced Manufacturing Hubs (AMHUBs) to leverage a comprehensive COVID response based on solid socio-tecno-economic pillars that bring together advanced manufacturing and digital enablers that will raise robustness, redundancy, resourcefulness, response, and recovery against current and future pandemics. Eur3ka vision builds on and accelerate current digital transformation industry 4.0 efforts, as well as flexible regulations and tailored workforce re-/up- skilling

The action ‘Differentiation: Clustering Excellence’ (DiCE) establishes a large research network designed to support policy decisions on EU differentiation. This CSA creates a unique cluster of excellence by bringing together, through their coordinators, the three successful H2020 sister projects on differentiation (EU3D, EU IDEA, InDivEU), which is amplified by the involvement of the TEPSA network and a strategy for including other experts plus UNEXE. DiCE’s overarching objective is to ensure that state-of-the-art research on differentiation is properly translated into policy-relevant advice and made readily accessible to policy-makers at European, national and regional levels of governance and society, better preparing the EU for future differentiation scenarios. The open and inclusive network will become the ‘Who’s Who’ of researchers working on differentiation and the dynamics of European integration. The three projects consist of 38 partner institutions (22 universities, 15 think tanks, 1 media partner) from across Europe involving more than 50 leading scholars and experts on differentiation. TEPSA’s presence in 35 European countries further enlarges the projects’ geographical scope. DiCE pursues a number of measurable, realistic and achievable objectives that are consistent with the call’s expectation of networking, knowledge exploitation and dissemination, and impact on EU policy-making. DiCE will: (a) create a network of experts on differentiation within and beyond Europe in an open and inclusive manner; (b) undertake a comprehensive stock-taking and synthesis of research including the production of a differentiation manual and portal; (c) map, synthesize and develop future scenarios on differentiation and test them at a scenario marathon; (d) improve the sustainability through a series of measures, including a link to Horizon Europe by working on concrete proposals for a fully-fledged think tank on differentiation with funding to be requested from the next Framework Programme.