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Air Transport Network – Next Generation

Final Report Summary - AIRTN-NEXTGEN (Air Transport Network – Next Generation)

Executive Summary:
The air transport industry is large, important and complex. It contributes massively to the prosperity of Europe, both in terms of a globally competitive manufacturing sector providing goods and services, and also in terms of promoting the effective transfer of people and goods within Europe and worldwide. The industry is forecast to grow in importance. Employment related to the industry (including manufacturing and the operational aspects of airlines, airports, air traffic control, policy and regulation) is already 3 million in Europe and set to rise to 5-7 million by 2020.
Achieving the objectives in Aviation in terms of growth, in terms of global competitiveness and in terms of sustainable development is critically dependent upon major aviation research and technological advances in the medium to long-term. The prosperous development of Aviation in Europe also depends upon key enablers such as improving the coherence and co-ordination of research and innovation activities conducted at national and European levels.
The project Air Transport Network Next Generation (AIRTN Next Gen), continued the network established under previous AirTN projects enlarging it, creating a platform of networking and communication between national organizations and governmental institutions with the aim to support research and innovation in the EU Member States and Associated Countries in the field of Aviation.
During the project, a database of existing information about national funding programmes in MS and AS, aimed to enable users to identify appropriate transport research and innovation-funding sources, became operational and was periodically enriched with new funding initiatives, with special emphasis on regional funding programmes.
In parallel, AirTN consortium delivered a set of specific studies focusing on:
- Eranet Cofund action in aeronautics and aviation sector;
- Research and innovation strategies for smart specialisation;
- Synergies between H2020 and ESIF;
- Proposal of mechanisms to stimulate transnational cooperation in education and mobility;
Another precious result of AirTN NextGen project is the “RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURES CATALOGUE”, based on the catalogue already developed in the previous AirTN initiatives. In AirTN-FP7 indeed, a catalogue of aviation research infrastructures (with a focus on experimental test facilities) in various EU countries was established, and an analysis of corresponding investment policies, priorities and mechanisms was conducted. This catalogue, being still a unique and valuable inventory of all relevant research facilities in Europe, has been updated with incoming new inputs collected according to criteria already defined in AirTN (FP7 Project).
In terms of dissemination, AirTN Next Gen activities were widely promoted at EU, national and regional level, via the following dissemination tools:
• 11 project newsletters were published and distributed – on a three months basis –.
• Three specific dissemination workshops were organized by the project :
➢ “First AirTN-Nextgen Network Meeting”, held in Brussels on 27 October 2014,
➢ “Possibilities for Transnational co-operations”, held in Wien on 30 June 2015.
➢ “Project outcomes and future cooperation possibilities”, held in Bratislava on 11 October 2016.
• Presentations at relevant events such as ACARE MSG, Clean Sky and ETNA meetings and related dissemination channels (ETNA plus and ETNA2020) the project public website was constantly maintained updated with transport related news and events, as well as AirTN Next Gen initiatives.


Project Context and Objectives:
T2.1 RTD&I transnational (including transnational) cooperation in EU Member States and Associated countries
Task 2.1.1 Database of national and regional funding programmes (FFG, CDTI, CIRA, APRE, FFG, and DLR)
CDTI, in close cooperation with CIRA, FFG and APRE, implemented the following activities in order to update and enlarge the database on regional and funding programmes r.
o Meetings with ACARE MSG (12 June 2014, 28 October 2014, 9 February 2015, 21 April 2015, 23 of June 2015, 21 of October 2015, and 21 of January 2016), in order to have one common questionnaire on calls and programme and discuss the outputs and needs. ACARE has provided all contacts they have and we have distributed questionnaires and analyzed answers.
o Updating the questionnaires on calls and programs. It has been changed to an online version (not anymore in the virtual lab).
o Setting up a distribution list with responsible contact persons for programs/calls and strategies relevant to aeronautics, in cooperation with the ACARE Member States Group o Sending out the questionnaire to AirTN partners, Network members, regions.
o Bilateral meetings with regional/national funding programme owners in order to compile information for the database.
o Restructuring the calls and programmers calendar on the AirTN Website.
o Coordinating of the format of the final brochure on “Aviation funding programmes, calls and strategies in Europe” (D2.3) as outcome of the survey with the AirTN partners, the ACARE MSG and the EC.
The results have been published on the AirTN Website, and the Database was frequently updated. To increase the return rate of the questionnaires the distribution list for the questionnaires has been verified/updated with the support of ACARE, BEWARE and ETNA plus. The questionnaires that have also been adopted by ACARE have been sent out to the new distribution list several times in 2015. The second release on the information on programmers, calls and strategies relevant for aeronautics was updated on October 2015, just in advance of the AERODAYS in London. A new joint questionnaire has been agreed between AirTN NextGen (FFG, CDTI,CIRA and APRE) and ACARE MSG, in June 2016, and it has been distributed in July 2016. This action was meant to analyse the development in aviation research and innovation in the EU Member States and their regions and create a detailed document (D2.3)
Task 2.1.2 National innovation and research strategies in aviation focused on transnational (including international) R&T cooperation for aeronautics and air transport intensive regions (CDTI, APRE, FFG)
Due to the withdrawal of GR AERO by the project, it was agreed that CDTI would start with the work of the task 2.1.2. The following activities were implemented for this task.
o Coordinate the cooperation with ETNA PLUS and ACARE MSG, using their outputs regarding national innovation strategies and defining the way to move forward.
o Study the Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3) and identifying regions that support aeronautic technologies. A map has been done with detailed information about specific technologies and contacts (D2.5);
o Study the synergies between H2020 and ESIF, in coordination with NSRG Clean Sky(D.2.4);
o Define the first study on “integrating smaller member states to Aeronautics Research cooperation“. It has been subcontracted to Roland Guraly that has been updated in 2015 (D2.5);
o Study about national innovation strategies on transport, in cooperation with ETNA plus (D2.5).
Moreover, APRE, being ETNA PLUS coordinator, presented relevant AIRTN NextGen activities to ETNAPLUS Steering Committee in Rome on 12th of May 2015. The collaboration between AirTN-Nextgen and ETNA PLUS was focused on monitoring the national innovation strategies aiming at fostering transnational cooperation in aviation research (T2.1.2) as well as on mapping the national and regional funding programmes (T2.1.1). In the frame of this collaboration, the responsible partner of ETNA PLUS was invited to participate at the next AIRTN NG networking meeting in order to present the results of the analysis on the national innovation strategies. Finally, APRE supported CDTI in this collaboration between the two projects, with some dissemination activities thought ETNA’s (ETNA PLUS and ETNA 2020) newsletter and website, as the publication of D. 2.4 and D. 2.5 on the website.

Task 2.2.2: Transnational coordinated calls (CDTI, FFG, CIRA, and DLR)
The main activities for this task are described here below.
o Analysis of outputs of the previous AirTN calls: timeline of calls and topics of mutual interests.
o Organization of a workshop, in order to check the willingness of launching a 3rd AirTN coordinated call, took place in Wien on 30 June 2015. There was low interest in launching a coordinated call, in fact, only Austria and Germany were willing to participate in a transnational call, but this activity could start only after the end of AirTN NG project;
o Support to CS2 in trying to use the structural funds to fund aviation technologies through regional calls (cased on RIS3). AirTN supported this initiative, providing to CS2 JU detailed information about regional strategies (RIS3) and calls, and a detailed report (D2.5) on how to explode synergies between H2020 and ESIF on aviation. The first release was sent in January that became a deliverable (it was modified on the second amendment of AirTN).

Task 2.2.3 ERANET Cofund Instrument (CIRA, APRE, CDTI)
APRE elaborated an analysis on the funding instrument “ERA-Net Cofund”, focusing on the differences between Fp7 and H2020, in order to understand the potential application of this instrument in the aviation sector. Best practises of ERA-Net instrument in H2020 were mapped and analysed, paying particular attention to ERA-NET already funded in transport sector (or complementary sector, such as ICT etc...). A dedicated questionnaire was also elaborated by APRE and CIRA and was sent jointly with the 2nd questionnaire mentioned in task 2.1.1 in order to investigate the willing of national/regional programme owners on having or not an ERA-NET in aviation. Afterwards, APRE proceeded with the analysis of the questionnaire results and the assessment of the potential development of the instrument in the aviation sector. The result of these activities was the deliverable D 2.7 “Report on the study of ERA-NET Cofound action within Horizon 2020”.



WP3 EDUCATION, WORKFORCE AND RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURES

T3.1 RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURES (ONERA, DLR, CIRA, NLR)
ONERA and partners involved in the task organized a Meeting with ACARE WG-5 Roadmap on RI & AirTN-NextGen Study on RI in Brussels (11 December 2014). During this meeting, taking into account the objective of updating the catalogue of RIs, the different points of view of EC and AirTN Nextgen consortium regarding the methodology for collecting new inputs were analysed and discussed; the agreement was reached on implementing a methodology to identify the future RIs with a special focus on the efficiency and the consistency. Moreover, ONERA launched a several email-Call in order to collect new inputs on research facilities to update the Research Infrastructures Catalogue during the period.
The catalogue of Research Infrastructures is available on the AirTN Website; the last update was done in September 2016 (D.3.6):
http://airtn.eu/strategic-and-key-research-facilities-by-types/
ONERA and partners (CIRA, DLR and NLR) prepared and organized two seminars dedicated to Research Infrastructures and simulation capabilities entitled:
o "Towards virtual certification: Key challenges in the field of simulation capabilities for European Research Infrastructures". This seminar was held in Bonn on 25th September 2014 (D3.1). The context and the aim of the seminar were: "Clusters of simulation capabilities are one of the key points to develop a fully networked aerospace resources or the development of a net of facilities for virtual certification according to the SRIA”. In this context, this seminar analyzed the potential advantages and their associated constraints of clusters of simulations to foster the virtual testing and the virtual certification. The aim of the seminar is the identification of new research infrastructure needs for both experimental and for virtual testing, the potential needs for virtual certification and the associated needs for the establishment of the clusters of simulations of European capabilities. The key conclusions of the seminar were used as a basis for the aeronautic community to progress towards virtual certification and to identify essential actions."
o "Virtual testing, towards virtual certification - Multidisciplinary industrial problems with low degree of confidence and extensive experimental verification". This Workshop was held in Amsterdam on 25th May 2016 (D.3.3). The context and the aim of the seminar were: "Where currently extensive experimental verification is needed, further development of design and simulation capabilities may increase the competitiveness of industry”. The development and validation of tools for this theme is indicated as a priority area in topic MG-1.3-2017 of the Horizon 2020 Work Programme 2016-2017 for Smart, green and integrated transport”. With this theme, both short and long-term needs in virtual testing and certification were addressed in this workshop.
The workshop addressed the opportunities for cooperating, offered at European level in Horizon 2020 (e.g. in the indicative work programme 2017 on Transport). Here below, the key objectives of the workshop:
o Identification of key isolated or clustered multidisciplinary aeronautics industrial problems with low degree of confidence and extensive experimental verification
o Identification of directions for solutions to such problems
o Identification of coordination measures that could take place at transnational and/or at European level
The synthesis on clusters of simulation capabilities and virtual certification based on the conclusions of the seminar and the workshop and on some additional information, which reinforced the identified conclusions, was delivered in September 2016 (D3.5).
T3.2 EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE (UNIZA, DLR, ONERA)
The activities mainly performed by the task Leader UNIZA and partners involved during the project life are:
o Organization of Workshop on Education and Training Needs for Aviation Engineers and Researchers in Europe in Brussels on 23 September 2015 (D.3.4).
o Organization of Workshop on “International Conference on Air Transport INAIR 2014” – Prague 13 and 14 November 2014 (D3.2).
o Presentation on “International Conference on Air Transport INAIR 2015”– Amsterdam, 12 and 13 November 2015.
o Presentation on “International Conference on Air Transport INAIR 2016” in Wien on 10 and 11 November 2016.
Moreover, the partners involved in this task finalized a “proposal of mechanisms to stimulate transnational cooperation in education and mobility” by specification of potential internship placements for students (D3.7).
Part of this action, UNIZA let industry experts to evaluate how match the needs of the aviation industry were met. This was conceived in order to reinforce the industry; attract students to aviation; facilitate the graduate fellows in aviation careers; increase the link between academic and global aviation challenges.
Moreover, thanking these activities, the University of Zilina (UNIZA) has signed Double Degree Agreement with École Nationale de l’Aviation Civile (ENAC). Both institutions have agreed to collaborate in order to increase the skills of students from each university.
WP4 – NETWORKING AND DISSEMINATION

T4.1 AIRTN.NEXTGEN NETWORK (FFG, CIRA, CDTI, DLR, ONERA, UNIZA, NLR)
FFG, in cooperation with CIRA, CDTI, APRE and NLR, performed the following activities.
o Set-up and maintaining the AirTN NextGen Network.
o The set-up of the AirTN-Nextgen Network was supported through dissemination in the ACARE MSG, Clean Sky and ETNA meetings and related dissemination channels (ETNA plus and ETNA2020).
o Communication concept of AirTN NextGen was established and has been summarized in a document.
o Establishment of the AirTN newsletter and sent out of 11 editions.
o A leaflet to advertise the project to externals has been established. Printed and spreaded on meetings, conferences, air shows and is depicted on the website.
o The first AirTN NextGen Network Meeting on the outcome of the previous AirTN initiatives as well as the possibilities for the new AirTN project to interact with other initiatives and organizations, has been organized and took place on the 27 of October 2014 in Brussels (D.4.5);
o The second AirTN NextGen Network Meeting on possibilities for transnational co-operations was organised on 30 June 2015 in Wien (D.4.8);
o A booth and presentations on AirTN NextGen have been organised and taken place at the Aerodays 2015 in London;
o The final network meeting on project outcomes and future cooperation possibilities was organised on 11 October 2016 in Bratislava (D.4.14);
o Distribution of relevant information on the project/planned events and outcomes;
o Presentation of AirTN activities at relevant meetings of ETNA Plus forum (Genoa 3 December 2014), BEWARE workshop (30 march 2015 in Rome), Aerodays 2015 (London 19 and 20 October 2015), ACARE MSG meetings (9 February 2015, 21 April 2015, 23 of June 2015, 21 of October 2015, and 21 of January 2016);
The first AirTN Network Meeting, presenting the outcome of the previous AirTN initiatives as well as the possibilities for the new AirTN project to interact with other initiatives and organizations, has been organized and took place on the 27 of October 2014 in Brussels (D.4.5). The meeting target participants were representatives from: member states & associated countries, transport and education (or other relevant) ministries, funding agencies, ACARE national mirror groups, regional government and clusters in the field of aviation (e.g. aeronautics and air transport - AAT).
The second AirTN Network Meeting focused on”Possibilities for Transnational co-operations” was organized on 30 June 2015 in Wien (D.4.8); the workshop was jointly organized with the ACARE Member States Representative Group. The purpose of the workshop was to highlight possibilities for transnational cooperation and to discuss the way towards future transnational cooperation. 30 representatives from ministries, agencies and organization managing national/regional funds in aviation in Europe have participated in the workshopThe intention of the workshop was to highlight possibilities for transnational cooperation and to discuss the way towards future transnational cooperation. Thirty representatives from ministries, agencies and organization managing national/regional funds in aviation in Europe have participated in the workshop.
The final AirTN Network Meeting titled “Project outcomes and future cooperation possibilities” was organised on 11 October 2016 in Bratislava (D.4.14). The primary objective of the workshop was to disseminate and share the knowledge, information, facts and figures gained during the project runtime on best practices for transnational cooperation, research infrastructure and educational and related activities and to discuss on future cooperation possibilities, including the possibility to launch an ERA NET Cofund.
T4.2 External Communication and Dissemination (CIRA, CDTI, FFG, ONERA, UNIZA, NLR)
CIRA, with the support of FFG, CDTI, APRE and NLR, contributed to the Communication and Dissemination activities through the following actions:
o Distribution of relevant information on the project/planned events and outcomes via 11 AirTN NextGen Newsletters. The Newsletters are all available on: http://www.airtn.eu/news/newsletter/index.html
o The AirTN NextGen project goals and achievements have been communicated within other relevant platforms and an active exchange of information between the different platforms and projects has taken place (ACARE MSRG, BEAWARE, ETNA Plus and CLEAN SKY SRG).
o The final AirTN NextGen Meeting was jointly organized with Task 4.1.

T4.3 WEBSITE AND PLATFORM OF COMMUNICATION (NLR)

The main activities for this task during the project life were focused on the public website.
Moreover, the renewed questionnaires on “programmes in Europe and calls in Europe” and a new questionnaire “on national and regional R&I strategies” has been implemented and distributed. For these AirTN Nextgen questionnaires, a new system for questionnaires has been installed, which is very suitable to take into account the larger distribution when compared to AirTN-FP7. The distribution list for the questionnaire was ever extending. The publication of the responses to the questionnaires was redesigned and implemented. The focus is to have a concise overview of the most relevant information that is directly seen by the envisaged users, whereas the detailed information is downloadable in an appropriate format.
Announcements to workshops/seminars/meetings (including those of AirTN) have been included as available. For AirTN meetings a registration tool has been integrated and used. Presentations of AirTN workshops/seminars/meetings have been distributed through the public website.
The information on the research infrastructure catalog on the public website has been updated. Also other information generated by AirTN Nextgen, such as transnational co-operation information on SME calls and CoFund in Horizon2020, has been put on the public website.
The layout of the AirTN website was upgraded to a modern look and to align with modern media approaches last year.

Project Results:
During the 36 months of the project, a database of existing information about national funding programmes in MS and AS, aimed to enable users to identify appropriate transport research and innovation-funding sources, became operational on the project web page and was periodically enriched with new funding initiatives, with special emphasis on regional funding programmes. This activity has been implemented through a common online questionnaire to include a wider number of MS and AS, with special emphasis on regional funding programmes.
An effort is needed at European, national and even regional level in order to ensure the future competitiveness, environmental friendliness and safety of European aviation.
The result of the survey was taken as source of information also for other important project activities aiming at identifying regions that support aeronautic technologies and at creating a map with detailed information about specific technologies and contacts; in particular, the following studies were implemented:

➢ Feasibility study on Eranet Cofund action in aeronautics and aviation sector D2.7;
➢ Research and innovation strategies for smart specialisation D2.5;
➢ Synergies between H2020 and ESIF D2.4;

The feasibility study on Eranet Cofund D2.7 was conducted by APRE and CIRA that in order to understand the potential application of this instrument in the aviation sector elaborated an analysis on the funding instrument ERA-Net Cofund focusing on the differences between Fp7 and H2020. Best practices of ERA-Net instrument in H2020 were mapping and analyzed, paying particular attention to ER-NET in transport sector.
The study D2.4 on national and regional funding programmes relevant to aviation exploited the existing information developed in AirTN FP7; these data are updated and enlarged to include a wider number of MSs and Ass, with special emphasis on regional funding programmes the results have been published on the AirTN Website and this Database is frequently updated.
The study on research and innovation strategies briefly shows how important is aeronautics for Europe quoting the leading strategic documents and statistical numbers, then shows the current progress for synergies among the different funding sources, The majority of the study deals with Smart Specialization (RIS3) as:
• The role of RIS3;
• What kind of results are expected via RIS3 in aeronautics;
• The current status of RIS3 planning in aeronautics and connected industries.

Through the result on the study on research and innovation strategies for smart specialization, some AirTN Nextgen’s partners supported Clean Sky to sign some MoU with the identified regions that include aeronautic technologies in them respective RIS3.

Another precious result of AirTN nextGen project is the “RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURES CATALOGUE”; AirTN Nextgen created a catalogue D3.6 (also available on the project web page) for the Strategic and Key research facilities for aviation supporting the European Research Area.
The catalogue is a unique inventory and is based on the information, provided by stakeholders on a voluntary basis, collected via a questionnaire widely disseminated in the European aviation community; thus some research facilities are not included due to the missed answers to the questionnaire. This catalogue provides an overview of the European facilities and provides a basis for coordinating further development to achieve the goals set in FlightPath2050.
Another important result is the “proposal of mechanisms to stimulate transnational cooperation in education and mobility” D3.7 by specification of potential internship placements for students. The aim of this document is to reinforce the industry; attract students to aviation; facilitate the graduate fellows in aviation careers; increase the link between academic and global aviation challenges.
Moreover, thanking these activities, the University of Zilina (UNIZA) has signed Double Degree Agreement with École Nationale de l’Aviation Civile (ENAC). Both institutions have agreed to collaborate in order to increase the skills of students from each university.
Actually, there are first three students enrolled on the Air Transport programme at both institutions. They are expected to graduate from both institutions and get their double degree in the 2017/2018. University of Zilina expects that double degree course will also be offered to students of Aircraft Maintenance Technology programme.
Also, these outcomes of the mentioned task “Education and Workforce” have been published in proceedings of selected international conferences:
o New trends in civil aviation 2016 conference hosted and organized by University of Zilina, September 2016
o Increasing quality and safety of civil aviation 2016 conference organized and hosted by University of Zilina, Slovakia, January 2016
o International conference on air transport INAIR 2015, organized and hosted by Amsterdam University of applied sciences, Amsterdam, November 2015.


Potential Impact:

Aviation belongs to the markets with probably the longest product life cycles, in comparison to other industrial markets. In such long periods of time the relevant economic, social and political environments change in a significant extent.
The analysis of international databases and studies as well as an information exchange between the AirTN Next Gen members can be used as the basis for a forward-looking discussion on economic, social and political conditions of the air transport.
AirTN Next Gen project has successfully established and maintained an extensive network of European aeronautics stakeholder groups that include ACARE and GARTEUR along with universities, research institutes, manufacturers and airports.
The consortium analyzed the existing information about national and regional innovation strategies (ETNA plus outputs) and defined a common strategy to provide an overview about transnational cooperation actions, it also completed the "Database of National and Regional funding programmes", included call calendar and a list with potential topics.
Moreover, the consortium completed the catalogue (database) on aviation research infrastructures as a quality information source for the aviation research & testing infrastructures roadmap.




List of Websites:
the AirTN website (www.AirTN.eu).
List of Websites:
www.AirTN.eu
Contact details - host:
NLR Amsterdam
Dr. Johan Kos
Anthony Fokkerweg 2
1059 CM Amsterdam
The Netherlands