MetacMed aims to link basic research on acoustic and mechanical metamaterials (MMs) to health and well-being issues. MMs have some remarkable properties, though to make them properly applicable to the targeted applications, their design must be carefully tailored. This will be achieved by bringing together a range of supervisory expertise and creating a network of 10 doctoral candidates (DCs), some of whom will work in the industry. The team includes beneficiaries and associated partners who, if working separately, would not be able to make the planned advances in research and innovation. DCs will each consider ways in which human health can be improved using MMs, e.g. improvement in the resolution of biomedical ultrasound imaging for e.g cancer diagnostics, the design of better spinal implants, monitoring of bone healing, the use of insoles to aid human walking. Another area of interest is to develop MMs that can be used for energy harvesting, to better power e.g. medical devices and reduce reliance on conventional power sources. These are all backed up by fundamental studies into the MMs themselves to provide the background to achieve these tasks. The balance of the network has thus been carefully considered in terms of basic science and applications, with input from industry in areas such as MMs fabrication and exploitation. Associated with the above is a strong set of training events, where the basic features of acoustic and mechanical MMs and their applications will be considered, together with soft-skills training such as writing, presenting, entrepreneurship, gender balance issues, stress management. Regular meetings of the DCs at various member locations will foster collaboration, and this will be reinforced by a carefully-selected set of secondments. A proper management system for both running the network effectively and properly monitoring and supporting PhD progression is built into the proposal, ensuring that successful outcomes are achieved by DCs.

The transition from fossil fuels to renewable and sustainable energy sources has become the European Union’s top developmental priority, with low-performing countries in Central Europe facing the most urgent need. As the region’s largest country, Poland’s continuing economic progress has not come without significant costs; due to its history in electricity production, in 2009 it had the highest rate of production by coal of any EU member state. This makes Poland Europe’s third largest polluter in terms of damage to society, home to six of Europe’s 30 most damaging power-plants, and to be among Europe’s worst for public exposure to harmful pollution. At the same time it is experiencing rises in domestic electricity demand twice the EU average. This makes Poland the most urgent nation in the EU with regards to the need for immediate conversion to renewable energy systems and resources. However, unlike traditional power facilities, energy produced by RES often produces unpredictable and variable outputs related to weather, season, and geographical location. While Polish research now has expertise in many of the technologies needed for energy transition, it lacks critical knowledge in modelling, planning, integrating, and managing large-scale renewable energy systems in a flexible and effective manner. The SUPREME project twins one of Poland’s best energy research centres, the Instytut Maszyn Przeplywowych Im Roberta Szewalskiego Polskiej Akademii Nauk with needed expertise in Denmark (Aalborg University), the Netherlands (University Twente), and Austria (the European Sustainable Energy Innovation Alliance). Focusing on needed knowledge transfer in integrating energy technologies, the project’s well-formulated mix of extended staff exchanges, joint work, Summer Schools, and other events will create a long-lasting and effective partnership that will have a very significant impact on Poland’s energy systems infrastructure.