The overall aim of the SPRING project is to present an integrated water resource management for reliable water supply for all needs that involve; developing innovative simple to operate bio oxidation systems for treatment of polluted water bodies (stagnant and flowing), cost effective real time monitoring tools and finally by implementing good practices in water planning for treatment, supply and usage. SPRING aims at improving and developing technologies for the elimination of pollutants from water using a bioremediation approach. In particular, SPRING aims at improving and developing bioremediation technologies for the removal of organic micro-pollutants present in groundwater and surface water at low concentrations, and which are currently treated using expensive physicochemical technology. Innovation also revolves around provision of simplified water quality monitoring methods and developing novel microbial technology to monitor pollutants in water. The Project will also develop real time detection systems to highlight different pollutants risks and flooding/water insufficiency scenarios. Field trials of the developed prototype in urban and rural settings will be carried out with the help of Municipality and an NGO. In addition, an inclusive decision-making process will contribute to democracy and will lend the decision legitimacy. Acceptance of remediation schemes during implementation will be enhanced by involving stakeholders and the public in the decision-making stage and thus, stakeholders decision making and management framework in the form of an NGO and a local Governing Body (Municipality) will be formed. Successful implementation and demonstration of the developed systems involving all stakeholders will help to achieve wide public acceptance towards reuse and recycling of wastewater through the developed bioremediation technology

LOTUS will: (a) Co-design and co-produce, with the cooperation of EU and Indian partners, an innovative water quality chemical sensor, as an advanced solution for water quality monitoring in India, using advanced technologies (carbon nano-tubes), capable of concurrently monitoring at real time multiple contaminants, expandable and suitable for multiple and diverse Use Cases in India, which will reduce the cost of sensors by a factor of at least 10; (b) Develop a suite of software tools (off- and online), organised and combined in a platform with cloud-based implementation, implementing sensor measurements (quality and quantity), the specific needs of diverse Use Cases (e.g. intermittent supply, tanker distribution) and advanced technologies in the ICT domain to improve water management; (c) Demonstrate and showcase the LOTUS solution in a wide variety of use cases, across the whole value chain of water (urban and rural areas, drinking and irrigation systems, river and groundwater monitoring, treated wastewater quality), taking into account the existing infrastructure, the capabilities of the sensor and the specific water challenges in India (socio-economic and technical); (d) Investigate, co-design and plan the business model and market uptake of the LOTUS solution, with industrial production and further development and production of the sensor in India, ensuring an advanced but affordable, low cost product and solution for monitoring water quality, after the end of the project; (e) promote social innovation, by introducing co-creation, co-design and co-development with multiple local stakeholders, as a paradigm of successful EU-India Cooperation in the water sector, with lasting social, technological and business impacts for water quality in India, leading to viable, affordable and (socially) acceptable products and solutions, capacity development, job creation, contribution to wider issues and initiatives and wide outreach activities.

The LeNSin project aims at the internationalization, intercultural cross-fertilization and accessibility of higher education by consolidating and empowering a global network called the Learning Network on Sustainability. This network is composed of 6 existing, functioning regional networks (14 HEIs in 5 partner countries and 4 European HEIs): LeNS_Brasil, LeNS_Mexico; LeNS_South Africa, LeNS_China, LeNS_India and LeNS_Europe. The project stresses curriculum development in the field of Design for Sustainability (DfS) focused on Sustainable Product-Service Systems (S.PSS) and Distributed Economies (DE), both known as promising models to couple environmental protection with social equity/cohesion and economic prosperity. LeNSin fosters capacity building in each region through 5 Seminars and 10 Curricular Courses, designed and implemented by the Partner countries’ and European HEIs in close collaboration and involving local companies/NGOs/institutions.The two supporting structures of the project are:-The distributed Open Learning E-Platform (d.OLEP): a decentralized web platform enabling distributed production&transfer of knowledge, adopting a learning-by-sharing mechanism with an open&copyleft ethos. It is a repository of learning resources (slide shows, video, audio, texts, etc.) and tools that any teacher can download for free and reuse and adapt to contextual conditions. -A set of labs (LeNS_labs) that: support students, teachers, researchers and local stakeholders with DfS tools and resources; host the d.OLEP with regionally developed resources and tools; and act as hubs connecting all LeNS_labs with local and global HEIs and companies/NGOs/institutions in a multipolar scheme. The d.OLEP and the labs will remain after the project end to ensure endurance of the action.An international “Decentralized Conference” (5 simultaneous national Conferences in the Partner countries and 1 in Europe) and a Students’ Design Award further disseminate the project results.