Particle physics is at the forefront of the ERA, attracting a global community of more than 10,000 scientists. With the upgrade of the LHC and the preparation of new experiments, the community will have to overcome unprecedented challenges in order to answer fundamental questions concerning the Higgs boson, neutrinos, and physics beyond the Standard Model. Major developments in detector technology are required to ensure the success of these endeavours. The AIDA-2020 project brings together the leading European infrastructures in detector development and a number of academic institutes, thus assembling the necessary expertise for the ambitious programme of work. In total, 19 countries and CERN are involved in this programme, which follows closely the priorities of the European Strategy for Particle Physics. AIDA-2020 aims to advance detector technologies beyond current limits by offering well-equipped test beam and irradiation facilities for testing detector systems under its Transnational Access programme. Common software tools, micro-electronics and data acquisition systems are also provided. This shared high-quality infrastructure will ensure optimal use and coherent development, thus increasing knowledge exchange between European groups and maximising scientific progress. The project also exploits the innovation potential of detector research by engaging with European industry for large-scale production of detector systems and by developing applications outside of particle physics, e.g. for medical imaging. AIDA-2020 will lead to enhanced coordination within the European detector community, leveraging EU and national resources. The project will explore novel detector technologies and will provide the ERA with world-class infrastructure for detector development, benefiting thousands of researchers participating in future particle physics projects, and contributing to maintaining Europe's leadership of the field.

The main aim of the project was to provide support, knowledge, techniques and tools for young females who would like to become entrepreneurs. . In addition to this, the support was provided through 16 hours training sessions organised in all the 3 participating countries. The mentoring sessions were provided by trainers in the field of entrepreneurship. The project was implemented in total for 12 months. The main aim of the project was to train and support women to become entrepreneurs and therefore to:• Encourage women to believe in themselves;• Give women concrete ideas on how to make a business plan;• Support women learning and networking with each other;• Help women’s entrepreneurship to be more visible within our society.The specific objectives of the project were as follows: • To help young women create a network of advisers in entrepreneurship;• To educate females on the available ways of accessing funds for setting up businesses; and• To add value to local economies by increasing local rates related to young entrepreneurs;The participating organisations were the Foundation for Empowering Gender Equality (the Coordinator) Euroform RFS (Partner 1) and ITAINNOVA (Partner 2). The differences between the selected regions created more synergies than gaps and the involved partners learnt from their own experiences.ITAINNOVA is public Technology Centre which mission is to support companies, technology leaders, institutions and anyone who shapes the society towards achieving a new future through innovation and technological development. ITAINNOVA is dedicated to guiding and helping companies, institutions and individuals to take a step towards excellence through innovation and technological development that was previously not possible. Euroform RFS is an Italian VET institution established in 1996 and accredited by the national government of Italian Republic and Calabria Region and operates in sector of vocational training and orientation. Euroform RFS organizes basically tailored training courses in different sectors regarding safety on the job, international trade, business administration and marketing, project management and administration, Italian language courses for foreigners, protection and management of environment, sustainable tourism, italian cuisine, etc. It has developed training on-the-job, e-learning, blended training as Euroform RFS gives a particular attention to ICT- based training, innovative training methods. The Foundation for Empowering Gender Equality encourages and supports gender equality and the development of women and entrepreneurship. Apart from this EU- funded project It took part in an EU funded project (Innovation leaders) under the European Social Fund. The aim of the project was to shortlist the best proposals submitted by local NGOs and companies. The proposal presented by Foundation for Empowering Gender Equality was selected and presented at the EU Commission in Brussels.Undertaken activities: 1). State of the Art Research in all the three (3) regions; 2). Three transnational meetings: 1st meeting was held in Zaragoza, Spain, 2nd meeting was in Rende, Italy and the 3rd meeting was held in Malta. Preparation of training sessions in the 3 regions, the selection of the experts/trainers and the actual training sessions in Malta, Italy and Spain. After the training sessions, the analysis reports were compiled.The Final conference was not held due to the fact the coordinator did not find a free venue to organise the event and the budget proposed initially under the Exceptional costs budget line was not approved for this activity. However, the rest of the planned activities were implemented successfully. In terms of results and impact attained, the project partners managed to attain a big impact in their regions. Each assigned task was implemented according to the application form. The awareness about this project and the training sessions was spread across various channels and the interest of the participants was great. All the above mentioned activities were implemented and achieved successfully. One of the most important outcome of the sessions is the motivation the women had after the training activity. A motivation which encouraged them to ask if there will be further training sessions in this area. Longer-term benefits: 1) Having a network of women trained in entrepreneurship in the 3 regions 2). Having a network of trainers/experts in entrepreneurship, 3).To educate females on accessing funds for start-ups and setting up businesses; 4). To add value to local economies by increasing local rates related to young entrepreneurs;

Europe’s railway industries require a step change in technologies and design for the next generation of rail vehicles in order to remain competitive globally. Innovative materials and modular design for rolling stock are considered to become key to success. Composite materials with their unique properties (lightness, repairabillity, corrosion resistance…) have demonstrated a high potential for lighter, more energy- and cost-efficient structural components in relevant sectors such aeronautic or automotive industries. However, currently available structural composites do not meet Fire, Smoke & Toxicity requirements of the railway sector, and thus cannot be used for the manufacturing of carbodyshell parts. Mat4Rail will face these challenges through a two-tier approach: In work stream I, our materials team (including resin producers, composite manufacturers, and experts on joining technologies and testing) will: i) synthesize novel fire retardant resins (epoxy, benzoxazine or hybrids) and manufacture composite batches; ii) modify fatigue and static load cases according to new requirements for polymeric materials; iii) further develop structural adhesive bonding combined with riveting and bolting for permanent and non-permanent joints and the repair of the new composites; and iV) assess novel design concepts for access door systems using new materials and joining technologies. In work stream II, our specialised design and engineering teams will develop new concepts for interior design of rolling stock including: i) plug and play systems which function like a limbic technical and power system for new electric utilities; ii) innovative lightweight seats and iii) a compact and ergonomic driver’s desk. Together, our multi-disciplinary consortium of 7 SMEs, 3 large industries, 5 RTDs and 1 UNI clearly has the experience and skills required to deliver innovations for uptake by the Shift2Rail JU members and the European railway industries.

ReNEW represents a multidisciplinary group composed of 24 participants from 11 countries of the European Union capable of playing a key role in supporting the transition of IWT to smart, green, sustainable and climate-resilient sector. To achieve this, the project will build on previous results, will capitalise on cooperation opportunities with ongoing projects and initiatives and will deliver: 1. An interdisciplinary IWT Resilience and Sustainability decision-support framework incorporating innovative models for IWT infrastructure networking interdependencies linking to probabilistic risk and safety analyses and resilience quantification (Resilience Index), supporting the identification of short- and long-term measures that enhance resilience utilising SOA building blocks from Reference Projects 2. Targeted innovative infrastructure resilience and sustainability solutions building on autonomy developments and maturing green energy options; 3. A Green Resilient IWT Dataspace and generic Digital Twin providing primarily data sharing between infrastructure monitoring, RIS and traffic management and emergency systems and climate solutions; 4. Four Living Labs designed to provide exemplars from a) LLs focusing on integrated IW and hinterland infrastructure [Gent-urban, Douro- corridor, Netherlands – EU network perspectives] and a LL addressing specifically inland waterway resilience; 5. ReNEW Outreach and Upscale activities designed to maximise impact pathways.

Buildings account for around 40% of total energy use and 36% of CO2 emissions in Europe . According to the recast Directive on the energy performance of buildings (EPBD) all new buildings after 2020 should reach nearly zero energy levels, meaning that they should demonstrate very low energy needs mainly covered by renewable energy sources. EU 2030 targets aim at least 40% cuts in greenhouse gas emissions (from 1990 levels), at least 32% share for renewable energy, at least 32.5% improvement in energy efficiency , and 80% reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 . Therefore, an urgent need is present for a deep market transformation by deploying efficient materials and technologies in the construction sector to support the real implementation of nearly zero-energy/emission and plus-energy buildings with high indoor environment quality across Europe. As energy consumption of buildings depend strongly on the climate and the local weather conditions, additional aspects arise (such as environmental, technical, user experience, functional and design aspects) on the selection of the appropriate material and technical components installation for a successful implementation of nZEBs. Further, this selection of materials and design for climate should be based on a circular economy perspective considering environmental, economic and social effects along value chains. Better utilisation of products and resources via reuse-repair-recycling is essential in achieving a transformation from a linear to a circular economy model. Many of the current materials and technical systems still have varying degree of difficulty in accomplishing a circular perspective. Material and technical system development in a ZEB framework should focus on building thermal performance improvement, high quality of indoor environment according to occupants’ comfort and health needs, while reducing the emission intensity in terms of production, maintenance, assembling and operation.