Air quality still poses a challenge to health, ecosystems and climate in Europe, despite decades of positive developments. Since the adoption of the first EU legislation on ambient air, the process knowledge has increased, the remote and in-situ observing technologies have undergone major developments, and new potent ICT infrastructures have emerged. Low cost sensing technologies have enabled a paradigm shift in air quality monitoring, triggering new research needs and opportunities in order to underpin the new capabilities. VIDIS will develop strategic partnership of VINCA Institute (SR) with leading international counterparts known for research on low-cost sensing (ENEA (IT), NILU (NO), Queensland University (AU)). VIDIS will establish scientific collaboration and networking and generate new knowledge that will allow the society to meaningfully utilize the new technologies, e.g., the emerging democratized data collection. VINCA is recognized in atmospheric research and in-situ monitoring including low-cost technologies. In order to fully capitalize on and improve this expertise, there is a need to establish a strategic partnership with institutions excellent in areas VINCA has been pursuing. VIDIS will improve observing capabilities and develop quality systems needed to ensure meaningful data integration. It will develop artificial intelligence and machine learning methods allowing to integrate the new types of data into existing information systems. Building on methods and data collected from ongoing projects of all partners, VIDIS will establish collaborative research, education, training and dissemination activities, early stage researcher training and mobility, and support early stage researcher career development also in research administration and stakeholder contact. This will increase the innovation capacities of VINCA and partners, improve VINCA’s collaborative potential, and contribute to excellence of European research and innovation.

The need for a better skilled and creative workforce for the European labour market has been identified as one of the strategic goals in EU policy statements and recommendations. The aim is to raise the level of education throughout Europe and to foster forward-looking and innovative citizens with ability for divergent and visionary thinking. The best result for enhancing these skills would be proactive game-changers able to explore and create new opportunities and jobs. Among transversal competences needed for lifelong learners and “workers 2020”, the sense of initiative and entrepreneurship, as ability to turn ideas into action, includes the capability to assess themselves, owned competences and talents, and the context of work to seize opportunities that arise. Self-awareness on owned skills and self-development skills are a key competence that is to be acquired by young people. Both educational guidance – in the choice of studies, and career guidance – in the choice of professions and labour market field, can greatly contribute to improve employability of young people. Career centres at the higher education institutions provide support and guidance to this respect, both as educational guidance and career guidance: transition periods, particularly between university and the labour market, should be supported, and the effectiveness of this support would be enhanced if the students have already acquired career development skills. ICARD aimed therefore at developing a European Career Development Programme, addressed to individual students in higher university, by designing and developing a programme tailored on the European educational and cultural system.Results of ICARD include:- an update state of the art of the available programmes, modules or practices fostering self-awareness and self-learning of higher education students on professional development, including education guidance, ongoing guidance and career guidance, covering then the entire study cycle at the university;- the European Career Development Programme, a transversal learning programme aimed at fostering acquisition of professional awareness and career management skills in higher education students which will include the learning architecture (programmes composed by modules, learning materials, evaluation and assessment tools);- 4 learning pathways carried out in real settings, at least covering one full programme, in four countries in Europe;- guidelines and recommendations for the adoption of the programme by further universities;- a raised awareness on the need of a more aware and skilled young workforce.

LEVITATE aims to develop a wide-ranging evaluation framework to assess the impact of connected and automated transport (CAT) on all aspects of transport and individual mobility as well as at societal level. This framework will be used to evaluate the impacts of CAVs on individuals, the mobility system and society using a wide range of indicators. The timescales for the forecasting will include • short term – CAT at an early stage of implementation, technological capability is broadly in line with present day • medium term – CAT becoming more widespread, increasing capability of technologies. Increasing penetration of more highly automated vehicles in fleet • long term – ubiquitous highly integrated transport systems, vehicle fleet is predominantly automated, personal mobility, vehicles and infrastructure have adapted to the new technologies. The outcomes of Levitate will include a set of validated methods to measure the impacts of existing technologies and forecast that of future systems. The methods will be applied to a series of scenarios including those of the present day to provide a range of impact studies of new and future mobility technologies. Based on the Levitate approach a new Connected and automated mobility decision support tool will be developed to provide an evidential basis for future mobility policy-making.