Project description
A new generation of scientists strengthens Europe’s leadership in wideband optical networks
Bandwidth refers to the frequency range covered by a specific technology. When it comes to data traffic and communications technologies, adding more frequencies means adding more information carriers, like adding more lanes to a busy highway. Internet traffic has exploded and will only continue to increase. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the WON project is establishing and coordinating the activities of the Wideband Optical Networks (WON) European Training Network. It will train 14 early stage researchers in areas including photonics, digital signal processing, system modelling and network and control management, enhancing European competitiveness in this socioeconomically critical field.
Objective
The annual global Internet traffic will 127-fold increase from 2005 to 2021, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 24% from 2016 - 2021. In the context of such extraordinary traffic growth, we are proposing the Wideband Optical Networks (WON) European Training Network, to promote international, inter-sectorial and multi/inter-disciplinary research activities and career development. WON will train 14 early-stage researchers (ESRs) in the area of wideband optical networks through collaboration of 14 academic and industrial highly qualified institutions. Solutions identified within WON will enable to overcome a possible traffic-crunch by achieving a 10-fold increase in the usable optical bandwidth of single-mode fibres. Being highly multidisciplinary, WON will cover all topics and expertise from design and development of photonic components, novel digital signal processing algorithms and system modelling to network and control management. WON is a doctoral-level training network that will benefit of rich interactions between the academia and industry. Eight academic and six industrial partners from nine different European countries will constitute the consortium
The ESRs will benefit from a comprehensive training programme featuring inter-sectorial and multidisciplinary technical courses, rich transferable skills training and international inter-sectorial secondments with a strong focus on industrial experience. WON ESRs will be capable of leading interdisciplinary research activities with unique expertise on designing physical-layer-aware wideband optical communication networks. In this context, the WON training networks will serve as a European platform for outstanding doctoral training in the field of ultra-high capacity next generation optical networks.
Fields of science
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesinternet
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsignal processing
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringinformation engineeringtelecommunicationstelecommunications networksoptical networks
Keywords
Programme(s)
Coordinator
B4 7ET Birmingham
United Kingdom