Cloud computing promises to revolutionise how companies, research institutions and government organisations, including the National Health Service (NHS), offer applications and services to users in the digital economy. By consolidating many services as part of a shared ICT infrastructure operated by cloud providers, cloud computing can reduce management costs, shorten the deployment cycle of new services and improve energy efficiency. For example, the UK government's G-Cloud initiative aims to create a cloud ecosystem that will enable government organisations to deploy new applications rapidly, and to share and reuse existing services. Citizens will benefit from increased access to services, while public-sector ICT costs will be reduced. Security considerations, however, are a major issue holding back the widespread adoption of cloud computing: many organisations are concerned about the confidentiality and integrity of their users' data when hosted in third-party public clouds. Today's cloud providers struggle to give strong security guarantees that user data belonging to cloud tenants will be protected "end-to-end", i.e. across the entire workflow of a complex cloud-hosted distributed application. This is a challenging problem because data protection policies associated with applications usually require the strict isolation of certain data while permitting the sharing of other data. As an example, consider a local council with two applications on the G-Cloud: one for calculating unemployment benefits and one for receiving parking ticket fines, with both applications relying on a shared electoral roll database. How can the local council guarantee that data related to unemployment benefits will never be exposed to the parking fine application, even though both applications share a database and the cloud platform? The focus of the CloudSafetNet project is to rethink fundamentally how platform-as-a-service (PaaS) clouds should handle security requirements of applications. The overall goal is to provide the CloudSafetyNet middleware, a novel PaaS platform that acts as a "safety net", protecting against security violations caused by implementation flaws in applications ("intra-tenant security") or vulnerabilities in the cloud platform itself ("inter-tenant security"). CloudSafetyNet follows a "data-centric" security model: the integrity and confidentiality of application data is protected according to data flow policies -- agreements between cloud tenants and the provider specifying the permitted and prohibited exchanges of data between application components. It will enforce data flow policies through multiple levels of security mechanisms following a "defence-in-depth" strategy: based on policies, it creates "data compartments" that contain one or more components and isolate user data. A small privileged kernel, which is part of the middleware and constitutes a trusted computing base (TCB), tracks the flow of data between compartments and prevents flows that would violate policies. Previously such information flow control (IFC) models have been used successfully to enhance programming language, operating system and web application security. To make such a secure PaaS platform a reality, we plan to overcome a set of research challenges. We will explore how cloud application developers can express data-centric security policies that can be translated automatically into a set of data flow constraints in a distributed system. An open problem is how these constraints can be tied in with trusted enforcement mechanisms that exist in today's PaaS clouds. Addressing this will involve research into new lightweight isolation and sand-boxing techniques that allow the controlled execution of software components. In addition, we will advance software engineering methodology for secure cloud applications by developing new software architectures and design patterns that are compatible with compartmentalised data flow enforcement.

Aim of the proposed project is to increase the social inclusion and decrease of loneliness among the most vulnerable group of elderly: those with low (digital) literacy levels. This will be done by the development of an innovative story-telling based e-training, facilitating volunteers and caregivers in valuable conversations. Development takes place in close collaboration with the target groups. The three-year project will be executed by a transnational consortium of five partners, from four different countries (NL, LU, UK, AU). The partner organisations are representatives of (lonely) elderly people, a design partner with expertise in co-design and a technical partner with experience in technical solutions for the older population. Loneliness is a serious problem among the elderly in Europe. In the Netherlands, there are over 4.1 billion people aged 55+. Out of these, 200,000 feel extremely lonely: they have social contact only once a month. In the United Kingdom, 1.2 million older people indicate chronic feelings of loneliness. Chronic feelings of loneliness can bring people down into a spiral of social exclusion. Older people with a lower literacy level are especially at risk of social exclusion as participation in current knowledge based societies are very much based on the ability to read and write. Storytelling can help them to make sense of their lives and connect them with their social environment. We use stories constantly; to inform, to connect with others or to share our feelings. Stories are used to organize our thoughts, find meaning and purpose and establish a sense of identity in this world. This is also why some people keep a journal organising their thoughts by writing them down on a regular basis. The proposed project aims to use these principles of storytelling in the development of a training against loneliness. Digital developments provide new opportunities in sharing personal narratives. However, many elderly people feel hesitant using them. They are for instance anxious to retain their privacy and distinguish between what they want to share with family, close friends or acquaintances. This is particularly true for those with a low literacy level. This is a pity as these digital tools may help to arrange, capture and use stories. Taking into account the needs of older people with low (digital) literacy levels and those working with them, our project aims to develop an e-training especially focusing on this target group. Following a structure of six work packages, the project will deliver five intellectual Outputs: - Intellectual Output 1 includes an offline training, integrating known principles in the field of storytelling which are relevant to use to combat loneliness among our target groups; -Intellectual Output 2 contains an e-training in which the offline tool is translated into a digital instrument. This translation will take care in close collaboration with the aimed target groups; - Intellectual Output 3 includes a supportive training for volunteers and professionals working with lonely older adults for whom the initial training is developed. This training will be launched at a transnational train-the-trainer event before the pilot starts in which the outputs are tested; - Intellectual Output 4 is a handbook, based on the pilot. The handbook includes the results and a manual for the different steps in execution of the trainings modules; - Intellectual Output 5 includes a toolkit for implementation, integrating all the delivered outputs. The toolkit provides practical tips and tricks to implement the outputs in other settings. The toolkit will be officially launched at a finalizing multiplier event at the end of the project;

The Board of Education in Katowice responding to the needs of their employees prepared a project of international cooperation with three partner institutions: Cambridgeshire County Council in Cambridge in Great Britain, and especially the part of Service for. Racial Equality and Diversity in Cambridge, Harju Maavalitsus in Tallin in Estonia and CASA DA EDUCAÇÃO in Lisbon in Portugal. For the project were selected institutions with significant experience in the evaluation process and work with the multicultural student. The overriding objective of the project is to improve the quality of education in the province of Silesia, through comprehensive improvement of staff members from the Board of Education in Katowice - improving knowledge and acquire new professional skills, linguistic and socio-cultural by a group of 22 professional staff. Competencies include the raising and development of professional competence of employees involved in working with multicultural students, in particular learners in secondary schools; learn the methods of analysis of the evaluation results and their use; the acquisition of competencies related to technical solutions related with functioning educational platforms, presenting the achievements of schools; increase the competence of English language; promoting pro-social attitudes and personal development of employees. To ensure the efficient management of the project was appointed a working group and prepared a project schedule. Participants will be chosen in the recruitment process by the Commission. The implementation of training in the form of job shadowing is expected in February 2017 for 10 participants for the trip to Portugal, and in March 2017 for 10 participants in Estonia and 2 participants in the United Kingdom. Together with partner institutions have been prepared apprenticeship programs responding to the needs of participants. Results of the project have been defined, namely the competence of employees, which will in the long term contribute as a result to improving the quality of education in the province of Silesia. Participation in the implemented project will enable participants to acquire the learning outcomes linguistic, intercultural, social and professional: knowledge of the educational system in Estonia and Portugal; knowledge of the system, forms and tools of pedagogical supervision exercised in those countries; recognition of the impact of evaluation on school work, ways to ensure quality of school work; Understand how to support schools in improving the quality, for example through the implementation of international projects; learn the methods of engaging multicultural students and their parents in school life; ability to prepare documentation introducing multicultural student to the new environment; conflict prevention method against the cultural differences between students in the classroom. The acquired competencies will be confirmed by a certificate prepared by the host institutions and will be defined in the Europass Mobility.In addition to the acquisition of new professional and linguistic skills is also planned to prepare handbooks and materials addressed to headteachers and teachers in schools and institutions of all types on the use of evaluation results and support for schools working with multicultural students. The delegating institution will provide all project participants logistical and practical support that will include every element of project activities, or securing travel, accommodation, insurance and meetings activities related to the preparation of cultural and linguistic. There are English-courses and the purchase of glossaries for participants planned. The Board of Education will ensure evaluation of the project on many levels and will cover participants and partner institutions to determine the degree of realization of the project results. It is planned to wide dissemination of project results involving participants in the project - a conference, seminar and through the website of the partner institutions.

The large scale introduction and application of cargo bikes in urban areas has shown to be a game changer for cities: the image of cycling improves; general levels of cycling increase (both for freight and passengers); urban space is used more efficently; air quality, safety levels as well as quality of life improve. However, this innovative solution is present in only a few cities and at best in the starting phase in other European cities. Its full potential has not been achieved in any European city. CityChangerCargoBike (CCCB) aims to change this and increase and accelerate take-up. CCCB will take the very best cargo bike implementation examples, contexts and expertise in Europe and profit and learn from them in order to transfer these on a large scale and in the best way possible to new cities and contexts - in CCCB's forerunner cities, in the follower cities and beyond. CCCB is based on the huge potential of cargo bikes to replace: - 23 - 25% of the commercial deliveries in cities - 50% of the commercial service and maintenance trips - 77% of private logistics trips (shopping, leisure, child transport) Further, cargo bikes bring with them a whole new bicycle culture: new fashonable multi-purpose cargo bike designs, cargo bike shops, new logistics concepts. Stationary cargo bikes can quickly be transformed to mobile street furniture and then even fulfil a place maker function. CCCB has the following objectives: - Raise awareness among the relevant stakeholders: public, private and commercial sector. - Utilise innovative tools for the take-up and scale-up and transfer between forerunner and follower cities: e.g. peer-to-peer exchange. - Establish favourable framework conditions for cargo bike use. - Achieve wide roll-out and transferability through Forerunner cities, Follower cities (within the consortium) and External follower cities. - Reduce congestion, emissions; increase safety; increase public space and improve public space usage.

We propose to build the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Sensor Technologies for a Healthy and Sustainable Future (Sensor CDT) on the foundations we have established with our current CDT (EPSRC CDT for Sensor Technologies and Applications, see http://cdt.sensors.cam.ac.uk). The bid falls squarely into EPSRC's strategic priority theme of New Science and Technology for Sensing, Imaging and Analysis. The sensor market already contributes an annual £6bn in exports to the UK economy, underpinning 73000 jobs and markets estimated at £120bn (source: KTN UK). Major growth is expected in this sector but at the same time there is a growing problem in recruiting suitably qualified candidates with the necessary breadth of skills and leadership qualities to address identified needs from UK industry and to drive sustainable innovation. We have created an integrated programme for high quality research students that treats sensing as an academic discipline in its own right and provides comprehensive training in sensor technologies all the way from the fundamental science of sensing, the networking and interpretation of sensory data, to end user application. In the new, evolved CDT, we will provide training for our CDT students on themes that are of direct relevance to a sustainable and healthy future society, whilst retaining a focus that delivers value to the UK economy and academia. The 4-year programme is strongly cross disciplinary and focuses on sustainable development goals and emphasises training in Responsible Innovation. One example of the latter is our objective to 'democratise sensor technologies': Our students will learn how to engage with the public during research, how to play a valuable part in public debate, and how to innovate technology that benefits society. Technical aspects will be taught in a bespoke training programme for the course, that includes lectures, practicals, lab rotations, industry secondments, and skills training on key underpinning technologies. To support this effort, we have created dedicated, state-of-the-art infrastructure for the CDT that includes laboratory, office, teaching, and social spaces, and we connect to the world leading infrastructure available in the participating departments and partner industries. The programme is designed to create strong identities both within and across CDT cohorts (horizontal and vertical integration) to maximise opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and leadership training through activities such as our unique sensor team challenges and the monthly Sensor Cafés, attended by representatives from academia, industry, government agencies, and the public. We will create a diverse and inclusive atmosphere where students feel confident and empowered to offer different opinions and experiences and which maximises creativity and innovation. We have attracted substantial interest and support (>£2.5M) from established industrial partners, but our new programme emphasises engagement also with UK start-ups and SMEs, who are particularly vulnerable in the current economic climate and who have expressed a need for researchers with the breadth and depth of skills the CDT provides (see letters of support). We recruit outstanding, prizewinning students from a diverse range of disciplines and the training programme connects more than 90 PIs across 15 departments and 40 industrial partners working together to address future societal needs with novel sensor technologies. Technology developers will benefit through connection with experts in middleware (e.g. sensor distribution and networking, data processing) and applications experts (e.g. life scientists, atmospheric scientists, etc.) and vice versa. This integrative character of the CDT will inspire innovations that transform capability in many disciplines of science and industries.