EESC GEM

5G Communication Networks are today at the stage of maturity of developing key enabling technologies for extended proof-of-concepts (PoC). Although standardization of 5G is yet to be finalized, 5G players already reached a general agreement on key enabling technologies, architecture and deployment scenarios of 5G networks. The 5G community is now looking for translating 5G use cases, vertical industries requirements and ambitions in adopting 5G, into viable business cases. However, the support of 5G new services and seamless connectivity across various vertical industries and very diverse use cases, still requires the integration of multiple access technologies. The 5G ALL-STAR project builds on the outcomes and the cooperation experience of 5GCHAMPION to design, develop, evaluate and trial multi-connectivity based on multiple access, combining cellular and satellite access technologies to support seamless reliable and ubiquitous broadband services. The project will develop a set of technologies and validate system interoperability to provide global connectivity and support mission critical applications of interest in both European and Korean regions. To this end, 5G ALL-STAR will develop selected technologies targeting a set of PoCs to validate and demonstrate in heterogeneous real setup: i) 5G cellular mmWave access system for providing broadband and low-latency 5G services, ii) new radio based feasibility of satellite access for providing broadband and reliable 5G services, iii) multi-connectivity support based on cellular and satellite access, iv) spectrum sharing between cellular and satellite access. In addition, the project will actively contribute to v) global 5G standardization including 3GPP and ETSI focusing on multi-RAT interoperability and New Radio based satellite access, vi) creation of a cross-regional lasting synergy for 5G research, innovation and commercialization through value proposition assessment for vertical industries.

The rail industry is facing important challenges as the average age of the workforce keeps growing while less young workers are interested in the physically demanding work required. Smart technologies can help to reduce work demands, avoid incidents and accidents, and support workers during heavy activities. STREAM support LEAN execution of intelligent maintenance process by introducing technologies that cause negligible modification of current working procedures, yet strongly improve operation planning, safety and performance. STREAM will develop two smart technologies employing environment perception and human intention principles enabling prevention and risk mitigation. First, STREAM will develop a control platform (OTA3M) adapted to existing rail excavators, by exploiting sensors, hydraulic actuators and software which will allow excavators to conduct multi-purpose autonomous operations enabling safe worker-machine collaboration. The OTA3M controls the excavator motion autonomously along tracks and introduces the autonomous capacity of manipulating heavy components relying on motion/force controls, obstacle detection and collision avoidance. Second, STREAM will deploy a modular active exoskeleton (MMPE) to reduce the risk of injury by assisting workers in heavy activities. The MMPE is tailored to track workers to reduce the risk of injury at the lumbar area by reducing biomechanical loading for a vast variety of manual handlings. MMPE understands human intention by exploiting human-activity recognition, proprioceptive sensors, and control strategies, and reducing worker’s efforts by applying specific forces, synchronized with the musculoskeletal system. The MMPE design emphasizes ergonomic aspects and PPEs integration to ensure comfort and usability making it suitable for workers. The consortium, assisted by an end-user board, will assess the devices from the perspectives of performance, ethics, and economic rationale to prepare further commercial exploitation

Modelling analyses typically suggest that policies accelerating the adoption of energy-efficient technologies (EETs) by overcoming barriers to energy efficiency in the residential sector provide benefits for individual households, the energy system and for society as a whole. Yet, implicit discount rates, employed to reflect households’ decision criteria and response to policy, are disputed in policy and academic circles. CHEETAH (CHanging Energy Efficiency Technology Adoption in Households) provides evidence-based input to energy efficiency policy design and evaluation, thereby supporting the market uptake of EETs in the EU residential sector. It contributes to the work programme by addressing the interrelations between microeconomic factors, sectoral energy demand and macroeconomic effects, relying on a consistent methodological framework. CHEETAH: • Provides empirical evidence on household response to established and new energy-efficiency policies and on factors driving adoption of EETs, accounting for differences across households, technologies, and countries. A multi-country survey (2000 interviews per country) will be carried out and analyzed econometrically • Assesses the impact of established and new policies energy demand in the EU residential sector until 2030 (meso-level). Established vintage stock energy models will be employed for appliances (FORECAST) and for buildings (Invert/EE-Lab) and linked with an agent-based modelling approach (ABM) • Explores the macro-level impacts of changes in microeconomic decision-making and energy-efficiency policy on employment, GDP and exports until 2030, relying on simulations with a recognized macroeconomic model for the EU (ASTRA) • Offers evidence-based recommendations for key energy efficiency policies and input for impact assessments and policy analysis at the three levels of analysis. • Communicates empirical findings to policy makers, national experts, the re-search community and the general public

Catching-Up along the global value chain: business models, determinants and policy implications in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (CatChain) is a project built on a multidisciplinary and multi-sectorial exchange program focused on unravelling the process of Catching-Up from different sectorial perspectives at a country level. It analyses the role of business models (BMs) in entering, learning and upgrading the Global Value Chain (GVC), aiming at recognising the determinants and challenges faced by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in tackling the process of upgrading in a globalising economy. The outcome of the project will be the definition of policy tools and frameworks to support effective policy-making actions in the implementation of Research and Innovation Smart Specialization Strategy (RIS3), with respect to the new agenda of Europe 2020, mainly for low-income EU countries. The main aims of the project are: 1.to identify: if and how a country should focus on developing domestic trade networks and upgrading before entering into GVCs; whether it should improve its infrastructures in regional value chains implementing the RIS3 strategy for its economic transformation; 2.to study the emerging BMs underpinning the successful entry, learning, and upgrading in GVCs, after the investigation and valuation of case studies in different sectors and countries; 3.to isolate the conditions that define the preferable entry strategy; 4.to recognise the policy framework that facilitates entries and supports SMEs in developing a profitable business strategy. To give robust scientific answers to the question of whether entering GVCs by sponsoring one large national firm or a set of small and dynamic enterprises, CatChain intends to bridge the Catching-Up approach with the GVCs literature, paying attention to the role that entry, learning and upgrading strategies – integrated with BMs, play in fostering a process of country-level catching-up in distinct sectors.

Entrepreneurial management practices play a pivotal role in taking entrepreneurial knowledge and utilizing it towards innovation and talent development, ultimately creating growth and increasing the effectiveness of both new business venturing as well as small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). EM4FIT investigates entrepreneurship and related management practices from an interdisciplinary and multi-level angel as important variables in the interplay between individual, organization and institutional contexts within and between advanced and emerging markets. EM4FIT aims to better understand entrepreneurial management practices both from an individual (intra-organisational) as well as comparative market perspective (inter-organisational). Research will be carried out with an emphasis on the impact of institutions and context on the EU. With the exchange among 16 partners from four continents and between the academic and non-academic sector, EM4FIT brings together knowledge from advanced as well as emerging markets to further understand how entrepreneurs and managers create successful businesses and foster growth. The generated knowledge will be disseminated around the world to enhance the impact of the European entrepreneurial spirit. Involving 67 researchers, managers, technical and administrative staff, the EM4FIT involves seven work packages (WP). In addition to project management and communication, dissemination and outreach activities, five WPs focus on research, training and dissemination at multiple levels: institutional-organizational-individual. With this project structure and the competitive capability of 16 partners involved, EM4FIT will generate high impact both in terms of research excellence and societal engagement. The mix between non-academic and academic participants is designed to create knowledge relevant for businesses and society alike.