The EU is the world's largest food producer, but climate change, loss of biodiversity and scarcity of resources, among others, put food security at risk. It is necessary to boost and promote technologies in the agri-food sector that lead to a more sustainable production model adapted to climate change and thus reduce dependence on imports in an unstable geopolitical scenario. The AgrifoodTECH program, led by the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT), is designed to equip 16 postdoctoral researchers with the skills necessary to lead advancements in the agri-food technology sector, central to the Agriculture 4.0 revolution. This interdisciplinary training program encompasses 10 crucial knowledge areas addressing future agricultural challenges and integrates international and intersectoral experiences through collaborations with 14 associated entities for secondments. UPCT is a member of the European University of Technology (EUt+) and has been recognised by the EC HRS4R distinction for its positive and stimulating environment for researchers. UPCT is located in the Region of Murcia (Spain), where the agri-food sector is considered strategic and its digital transformation a priority in its RIS4Mur. AgrifoodTECH is poised to establish a pioneering postdoctoral program recognized internationally for its research excellence. This initiative aims to position both the University and the Region of Murcia at the forefront of agricultural innovation in the 21st century. Furthermore, it seeks to lay the groundwork for founding the first European Research Institute (ERI) dedicated to agri-food technology, spearheaded by UPCT. This endeavor will be bolstered by the contributions of postdocs trained under the AgrifoodTECH banner, ensuring a strong foundation for groundbreaking research and development in the sector.

Among the different global challenges that we are facing today, the energy crisis and freshwater scarcity represent two of the most critical ones, according to international institutions such as the World Health Organization and the International Energy Agency. Moreover, they are expected to worsen with rising populations and the industrialisation of emerging countries. To address these, sustainable and eco-friendly solutions are imperative. In this context, solar energy, an abundant and green resource, can be leveraged to meet both needs. PHOTEM will do so with an innovative approach that efficiently combines photothermal desalination with thermoelectric generation, driven by the development of novel high-performing and environmentally friendly materials. In this approach, photothermal materials (PTMs) directly convert solar energy into heat, facilitating the evaporation of clean water from seawater. Concurrently, the thermoelectric generator (TEG) uses the radiated waste heat from photothermal conversion process to generate electricity through the Seebeck effect. The project’s ambitious goal is to design, synthesize, and integrate these novel materials into a unified system that optimizes water evaporation rates and electricity generation while minimizing environmental impact. PHOTEM focuses on three key components: the PTM, the TEG, and the engineering of their integration (EOI). By advancing the efficiency of these components beyond the current state-of-the-art, the project aims to achieve high evaporation rates, improved solar evaporation efficiencies, and cost-effective, stable TEG. PHOTEM’s innovative approach aligns with global sustainability goals, offering a scalable and impactful solution to the intertwined issues of water and energy scarcity.

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.

Food safety and food waste management remain two major challenges in Europe, with enormous effects on the economy, the environment and public health. Each year 23 million cases of foodborne illness and 5000 deaths are reported in Europe. At the same time, one third of food produced for human consumption is wasted because it is considered unfit for consumption, which amounts to approximately 1.3 billion tons each year. Therefore, the development of innovative measures to reduce food waste presents a viable alternative in a situation where new solutions are desperately required. In this sense, the development of circular economies that revalorize byproducts and residues of food industries as products that can be reused is a promising research avenue. WASTEtoSAFETY will confront this challenge by developing the scientific basis to implement a circular economy that uses waste from the citrus industry to extend the shelf life of fresh produce from the Mediterranean area. Namely, it will optimize two “green” methods (microwave & ultrasound) for the extraction of essential oils (EO) from orange peel. The EO will be used as the basis for two food preservation technologies: a washing solution and an active packaging. The project will also evaluate their potential impact on the food chain, through a quantitative microbiological risk assessment (QMRA), a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) combined with a Material Flow Analysis. WASTEtoSAFETY will thus provide tangible advances to the field of Food Science, developing a noticeable solution for the revalorization and utilization of citrus waste. It will also open new research avenues related to the upscaling of these technologies to an industrial level.

C-QuENS is an innovative research project aimed at advancing the field of quantum sensing by developing the next generation of NV-centre-based quantum sensors with quantum entanglement-enhanced performances. To achieve this goal, C-QuENS brings together six world-leading experts from four European countries who have made pioneering contributions to this research field that are essential for the realisation of the C-QuENS research vision. The project will focus on developing novel sensing protocols based on engineered correlated quantum spin states, such as entangled states and dynamical phase transitions. These protocols will outperform current quantum sensing scenarios based on independent spins in terms of sensitivity and precision. The development of these protocols will build on strong theoretical support with the development of quantum control methods, advanced signal processing protocols and experiment modelling, optimisation and analysis. C-QuENS will conduct laboratory demonstrations of these protocols using multi-qubit quantum registers undergoing magnetic dipolar interaction to create multi-qubit entanglement and many-body dynamics. In addition, the project aims to bridge the knowledge and technical gaps to implement laboratory prototypes of NV-based quantum devices that can find application in a wide range of fields as diverse as semiconductor testing or medicine. These objectives will leverage pivotal advances in diamond quantum-capable materials, including NV growth control and surface treatments. The outcomes of C-QuENS will be disseminated to the scientific community, industry, and society to promote the adoption of these technologies and maximize their impact in basic science, material manufacturing, microelectronics, healthcare, and metrology. The project will also contribute to training quantum-literate physicists and engineers and to consolidate the European supply chain on diamond quantum sensors, crucial to maintain Europe's competitiveness.