To reduce climate impact of aviation, decarbonisation is a major challenge. Current combustion chambers are burning hydrocarbon fuels, such as kerosene or more recently emerging SAF products. Hydrogen is also considered today as a promising energy carrier but the burning of hydrogen creates radically new challenges which need to be understood and anticipated. HESTIA specifically focuses on increasing the scientific knowledge of the hydrogen-air combustion of future hydrogen fuelled aero-engines. The related physical phenomena will be evaluated through the execution of fundamental experiments. This experimental work will be closely coupled to numerical activities which will adapt or develop models and progressively increase their maturity so that they can be integrated into industrial CFD codes. Different challenges are to be addressed in HESTIA project in a wide range of topics: - Improvement of the scientific understanding of hydrogen-air turbulent combustion: preferential diffusion of hydrogen, modification of turbulent burning velocity, thermoacoustics, NOx emissions, adaptation of optical diagnostics; - Assessment of innovative injection systems for H2 optimized combustion chamber: flashback risk, lean-blow out, stability, NOx emission minimisation, ignition; - Improvement of CFD tools and methodologies for numerical modelling of H2 combustion in both academic and industrial configurations. To this end, HESTIA gathers 17 universities and research centres as well as the 6 European aero-engine manufacturers to significantly prepare in a coherent and robust manner for the future development of environmentally friendly combustion chambers.

The goal of this project is to develop estimation and control strategies for systems where only a (very) limited amount of information (measurements and models) is available. The main motivation to consider these problems are biomedical applications, where such a small amount of available information is often inherent. Examples include hormone concentration measurements when considering thyroidal diseases (which are typically only taken every few days or even weeks) or monitoring the size of a tumor. Estimating the current state of the system and devising appropriate control actions is very challenging in such applications. This is not covered by existing approaches in the literature, necessitating the development of novel methods and tools. Within this project, I will in particular focus on the following aspects. First, observability of nonlinear systems subject to few (sampled) measurements will be studied and sampling strategies together with suitable nonlinear state estimators will be derived. Second, state estimation and control strategies will be developed for situations with only partial or no model knowledge. Again, this is of intrinsic importance in biomedical applications where often the underlying physical principles are only partially understood or too complex. This necessitates the design of data- and learning-based methods, for which desired guarantees can be given, even in case of few measurements. Third, the developed tools will be extended to large-scale systems, where estimation and control has to be achieved in a distributed fashion. The successful achievement of the project goals will (i) enable estimation and control in systems with very few, sampled measurements, (ii) constitute a big step towards a holistic data-based systems and control theory, (iii) result in a new, data-driven, paradigm for the control of large-scale systems, and (iv) enable the design of systematic, personalized, and optimal control strategies in biomedical applications.

"<< Background >>Many teenagers and young adults in Europe are by no means apolitical. They take to the streets: in Poland for a liberal abortion law, in Hungary for the rights of LGBTI people, and in many countries for climate protection (FFF, extinction rebellion). Associations, parties and unions do not seem to be so appealing to young adults - although they are important actors in a democratic state. This problem is not new.The question is: What measures can help – especially with regard to young people - to regain trust in representative democracy and, in the course of this, possibly decide in favor of long-term involvement at the institutional level? Certainly no one can offer patent remedies for this. One approach that deserves attention, however, is participatory instruments such as ""mini-publics"". So far, few people know about these instruments, and equally unknown are the encouraging experiences of citizens in Ireland who participated in citizens' assemblies to develop recommendations for a new Irish constitution. 66 randomly selected citizens and 33 politicians met over several weekends to discuss, for example, the introduction of marriage for all. This was a highly emotional issue that polarized the population.There have been three model mini-publics at the national level in Germany so far; in Austria, the second mini-public will begin at the end of 2021; at federal state level, Vorarlberg has many years of experience with mini-publics. The project's partner organizations are based in Austria, Germany and Croatia, and the team combines practical, scientific and didactic-methodological expertise. For young people, mini-publics can be interesting in several respects: The minimum age of participation is 16, and many mini-publics are about climate protection and climate justice. These are topics that can be included in civic education because they affect the lives of young people.People who do not have the citizenship of the country in which they live can also participate in mini-publics. This is an important signal for many who have been there for several years. For example, in Germany, foreigners without German citizenship are not allowed to participate in elections to the Bundestag and Landtag. The same applies to referendums (state and federal level). This currently affects over 11 million people.Mini-publics are a topic that will have greater social relevance in the future. In Austria and Germany, there are considerations on how they can be institutionalized on a national level (cf. Report of the Administration of the German Bundestag on the Citizens' Council 'Germany's Role in the World', 2021).The OECD also points out the importance of participation; in 2020, it published the empirical study: 'Innovative Citizen Participation and New Democratic Institutions'. Among other things, it deals with the conditions that must be met for a mini-public to be successful. These conditions are based on research by political scientists, such as Maija Setälä.In the project, different scientific positions are didactically prepared, so that the professional competences of teachers and lecturers at universities are improved. As a result, teachers etc. contribute to the development of students' civic competences and to their having a more differentiated knowledge of how they can participate politically.Thus, the MANTA project corresponds with the Erasmus+ priority 'Participation in democratic life' ""Priority will be given to projects that promote people's democratic participation and social and civic engagement through formal and non-formal learning activities.""<< Objectives >>The primary target group of the project are teachers. They expand their knowledge of new instruments of civic participation and they learn how to implement these subjects with the help of the didactic principle of research orientation. It is about participation possibilities, which even many professionals do not know yet, but which are interesting for young people. In this way, young people can be motivated even more to get involved in decision-making at all levels. The secondary target group is thus pupils. In politics classes and other subjects (e.g. law, social studies), discuss the potentials and limits of participation instruments such as the mini-publics. Through a teaching/learning setting that encourages them to develop research questions on specific topics, they sustainably improve their civic competencies Student teachers and teachers: deepen their knowledge regarding new forms of participation. Mini-publics have recently been applied at the EU level. One example is the 'Conference on the Future of Europe'. Four mini-publics with a total of 200 citizens from Europe are involved. Furthermore, students and teachers also learn how instruments that have existed for a longer time, e.g. the European Citizens' Initiative, can be modified to be more effective. Subjects to be taught are e.g. civic education, social studies, law etc.Teachers learn practical exercises and methods to analyze citizens' councils and digital formats of participation in a differentiated way.Students learn that participation instruments and processes can be organized in very different ways, each with different effects. In addition, a citizens' council deals with problems that are very complex (cf. the phenomenon of 'wicked problems' [Grundmann: 2016].Thus, the basic goal for the students is to acquire a questioning attitude and to learn that there are no simple answers to complex questions. This is an essential aspect of political judgment. It also includes the ability to think critically and develop arguments in order to be able to assess long-term consequences, among other things.Long-term OBJECTIVE is to, - To motivate young people to become involved within representative democracy. To help ensure that important ecological, political, social and economic problems can be adequately addressed.Overall, the project supports teachers in educating students to become responsible citizens. They should be able to participate fully in social and political life. The basis for this is knowledge of social, economic, legal and political concepts and structures as well as an understanding of global developments and sustainability.<< Implementation >>TEAMThe team is composed of people living in different EU countries and working in different fields:General Education, Higher Education, Extracurricular Education and Youth. This ensures that the results will be used across sectors even after the end of the project. Specifically, the team is composed of representatives from the following institutions: Verein Mehr Demokratie e. V. (Germany)Institut für Didaktik der Demokratie; Leibniz University Hanover (Germany)GONG, Non-governmental organization (Croatia)Gymnasium in Pula (Croatia)Institut für Konfliktforschung, (Vienna, Austria)Volksschule St. Andrä-Höch (Austria)Demokratiezentrum Vienna (Austria) (Coordinator).PROJECT MEETINGS AND DISSEMINATION OF RESULTSDuring the project period, the international team meets five times to work together - in direct exchange - on the results. Another important item on the agenda of each meeting, is the effective and appropriate dissemination of the results. For example, it is a question of which institutions are additionally addressed, so that the network is constantly expanded and new cooperations are created.Via so-called multiplier events, the MANTA project reaches 300 teachers, school principals and decision-makers in educational authorities; the events will take place in Austria, Croatia and Germany from mid-2023.EVALUATIONAfter an outcome has been completed, e.g. the face-to-face part of the blended learning training, it is tested by several teachers or student teachers. Subsequently, the respective result is revised, for which the feedback from the practical testing forms the basis. External actors are also involved in the development of the results, including those who provide feedback on prototypes. COMMUNICATION AND COOPERATIONThe team uses Moodle to communicate with each other. On this platform, important documents can be viewed at any time: e.g. the dissemination plan; explanations of the respective results, upcoming deadlines, etc. In the time between the face-to-face meetings, the internal, mutual evaluation of the prototypes and results also takes place in Moodle.Once a month, the partners meet in a video conference. Experiences from previous projects showed that this is a good way to clarify questions and check the progress of the project. USEResults will be disseminated through eTwinning, EPALE, the Erasmus+ Projects and Results Platform, through the MANTA project website and through other channels (twitter, fb). Existing networks with schools, school authorities, teacher training institution, universities (teacher training) will be extended within the project duration.<< Results >>1. blended learning training for teachers on the topic of 'New forms of participation, which are also accessible for young people'.2. webinars on the above mentioned topic for the online part of the training - as well as freely accessible on the net for an interested audience (e.g. teachers, lecturers at universities)3. short film documenting a so-called 'research workshop' on the topic of participation. This is a learning/teaching setting that teachers can implement e.g. in political education. It is based on the didactic principle of inquiry-based learning. The research workshop is part of the face-to-face course of the training. It is carried out and evaluated during the project.4. problem-based impulse materials, for the direct implementation of a research workshop in the classroom."

The Scottish Doctoral Training Centre in Condensed Matter Physics, known as the CM-DTC, is an EPSRC-funded Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) addressing the broad field of Condensed Matter Physics (CMP). CMP is a core discipline that underpins many other areas of science, and is one of the Priority Areas for this CDT call. Renewal funding for the CM-DTC will allow five more annual cohorts of PhD students to be recruited, trained and released onto the market. They will be highly educated professionals with a knowledge of the field, in depth and in breadth, that will equip them for future leadership in a variety of academic and industrial careers. Condensed Matter Physics research impacts on many other fields of science including engineering, biophysics, photonics, chemistry, and materials science. It is a significant engine for innovation and drives new technologies. Recent examples include the use of liquid crystals for displays including flat-screen and 3D television, and the use of solid-state or polymeric LEDs for power-saving high-illumination lighting systems. Future examples may involve harnessing the potential of graphene (the world's thinnest and strongest sheet-like material), or the creation of exotic low-temperature materials whose properties may enable the design of radically new types of (quantum) computer with which to solve some of the hardest problems of mathematics. The UK's continued ability to deliver transformative technologies of this character requires highly trained CMP researchers such as those the Centre will produce. The proposed training approach is built on a strong framework of taught lecture courses, with core components and a wide choice of electives. This spans the first two years so that PhD research begins alongside the coursework from the outset. It is complemented by hands-on training in areas such as computer-intensive physics and instrument building (including workshop skills and 3D printing). Some lecture courses are delivered in residential schools but most are videoconferenced live, using the well-established infrastructure of SUPA (the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance). Students meet face to face frequently, often for more than one day, at cohort-building events that emphasise teamwork in science, outreach, transferable skills and careers training. National demand for our graduates is demonstrated by the large number of companies and organisations who have chosen to be formally affiliated with our CDT as Industrial Associates. The range of sectors spanned by these Associates is notable. Some, such as e2v and Oxford Instruments, are scientific consultancies and manufacturers of scientific equipment, whom one would expect to be among our core stakeholders. Less obviously, the list also represents scientific publishers, software houses, companies small and large from the energy sector, large multinationals such as Solvay-Rhodia and Siemens, and finance and patent law firms. This demonstrates a key attraction of our graduates: their high levels of core skills, and a hands-on approach to problem solving. These impart a discipline-hopping ability which more focussed training for specific sectors can complement, but not replace. This breadth is prized by employers in a fast-changing environment where years of vocational training can sometimes be undermined very rapidly by unexpected innovation in an apparently unrelated sector. As the UK builds its technological future by funding new CDTs across a range of priority areas, it is vital to include some that focus on core discipline skills, specifically Condensed Matter Physics, rather than the interdisciplinary or semi-vocational training that features in many other CDTs. As well as complementing those important activities today, our highly trained PhD graduates will be equipped to lay the foundations for the research fields (and perhaps some of the industrial sectors) of tomorrow.

As risks are not “objective” but socially and culturally constructed, disaster management which is aware, respects, and makes use of local cultural aspects will be not only more effective but, at the same time, also improve the community’s disaster coping capacities. CARISMAND is setting out to identify these factors, to explore existing gaps and opportunities for improvement of disaster policies and procedures, and to develop a comprehensive toolkit which will allow professional as well as voluntary disaster managers to adopt culturally-aware everyday practices. This goal will be achieved by approaching the links, and gaps, between disaster management, culture and risk perception from the broadest possible multi-disciplinary perspective and, simultaneously, developing a feedback-loop between disaster management stakeholders and citizens to establish, test, and refine proposed solutions for culturally-informed best practices in disaster management. Whilst experts from a variety of fields (in particular legal, IT, cognitive science, anthropology, psychology, sociology) will undertake a comprehensive collation of existing knowledge and structures, a number of Citizen Summits and Stakeholder Assemblies will be organised. Systematically, CARISMAND will use an approach that examines natural, man-made and technical disasters, placing at the centre of attention specific aspects that affect culturally informed risk perceptions, eg whether disasters are caused intentionally or not, the different “visibility” of hazards, and various time scales of disasters such as slow/fast onset and short- and long-term effects. By organising six Citizen Summits (two per disaster category per year in two separate locations) where such disaster risks are prevalent , and three Stakeholder Assemblies (one per year) where the results are discussed through a wide cross-sectional knowledge transfer between disaster managers from different locations as well as from different cultural backgrounds.