Friends of Foster Children Scholarship Program

Harnessing the unique properties of marine organisms to deliver sustainable blue bio-based products is sponsored by European Commission — Horizon Europe. Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: increased support on green bioprocessing, safe and sustainable blue bio-based products; increased understanding of safety, effectiveness and regulatory bottlenecks of blue bio-based products; increased commitment to biodiversity preservation and conservation ensuring that the biodiscovery of new compounds does not lead to unsustainable harvesting from the wild and promoting sustainable use of genetic diversity. Scope: The European industry must transition to a greener, more sustainable model to enhance its competitiveness against other business models and foster the production of novel high-value sustainable products. Achieving this requires a shift towards a bio-based system, which leverages biological processes to deliver products that contribute to climate change mitigation by reducing environmental impact and can compete with and eventually replace traditional models. For instance, the current use of hazardous chemicals in various industries, such as the textile and polymer industries, requires the development of more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives. In this context, the vast and largely untapped diversity of marine organisms—including fungi, algae, and invertebrates—presents a valuable source of biomolecules with unique properties. These marine-derived compounds hold significant potential across a range of applications, for example from construction materials, chemical processes to bioplastics and textiles. Supporting research and innovation in blue biotechnology fosters the transition toward greener, high-performance products across multiple industries. Proposals should address the following: develop safe and sustainable blue bio-based products, by exploring the use of the unique physical, chemical and biochemical properties of biomolecules from marine organisms (e.g., adhesion, structural organization, fluorescence, luminescence). Proposals in scope include novel adhesion agents or bonding products, biochemicals to replace hazardous chemicals, antifouling paintings and coatings, replacement for synthetic surfactants, biomarkers, biosensors, enzymes. Proposals aiming to develop molecules with important economic or societal impact are encouraged. The applications in health biotechnology, as well as the biofuel/bioenergy area are excluded, to avoid overlaps with Horizon Europe Clusters 1 and 5, respectively; incorporate the use of synthetic and engineering biology approaches and foresee the necessary links with the digital technologies and tools (AI/ML, bioinformatics); include the assessment of the costs and benefits compared to conventional alternatives in the market. Proposals should look into regulatory, market and value chain bottlenecks; assess the safety, environmental sustainability and effectiveness of the developed bio-based products derived from marine environments compared to the equivalent material on the market; develop recommendations for policy makers and industrial actors, considering the available scientifically sound assessment of risks and benefits of the developed solutions. Proposals should cover the innovation chain from research, to development, and proof of concept. Legal aspects linked to securing clear access to marine resources, including related infrastructures and bio-resources banks and collections, their sustainable use as well as access and benefit sharing aspects, should be properly considered. Marine resources can be obtained sustainably from natural environments, as well as from publicly or privately accessible collections. The harvesting or utilization of sentient marine animals, including invertebrates, must be carefully evaluated to ensure that ethical and moral considerations are adequately addressed. Proposals are encouraged to consider, where relevant, the data, expertise and services offered by European research infrastructures [1] , such as EMSO ERIC, EU-O Programme areas: Horizon Europe (HORIZON), Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness, Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment, Bio-based Innovation Systems in the EU Bioeconomy Keywords: Biochemistry and molecular biology, Cell biology, Microbiology, Chemical sciences, Computer sciences, information science and bioinformatics, Downstream applications of marine biotechnology, Enzymes, Industrial biotechnology, Marine Biotechnology, Marine Natural Products, Marine biology, Marine science, artificial intelligence, bioactive compound, bioeconomy, bioinformatics, biomanufacturing, bioprocessing, bioproduction, biosynthesis, cultivation, digital tools, enzyme, fermentation, microbiome

Leveraging long-term field experiments and other datasets to develop AI-ready decision support systems for sustainable soil management is sponsored by European Commission — Horizon Europe. Expected Outcome: Activities under this topic will help progress towards the objectives and targets of the Mission Soil and the EU Soil Strategy for 2030 . Activities should also contribute to the implementation of the Soil Monitoring and Resilience Directive after its adoption. Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes: enhanced adoption of impactful sustainable soil management solutions and strategies supported by AI-powered decision support systems by land managers; harmonised, standard, robust, interoperable and accessible methods, protocols and logical architecture for long-term field experiments (LTEs) data collection and integration (including with other datasets) are in place; scientists, policymakers, and land managers gain enhanced access to comprehensive, high-quality soil data, enabling better research, informed decision-making, and effective land management practices. Scope: Long-term field experiments (LTEs) can be defined as “agricultural experiments for monitoring soil and crop properties under changing climate conditions and different management with a minimum duration of 20 years” [1] , [2] . LTEs are typically owned or managed by public research institutions. Long-term field experiments provide valuable information on soil health and sustainable soil management practices and can be considered critical infrastructure for agricultural research. However, LTEs present some limitations or needs to maximize their impact. There is a need for standardized methods in collecting and reporting soil data to ensure consistency and comparability across different studies and regions. Opportunities exist to integrate soil data from long-term field experiments with other data sources (including the Mission Soil projects results, but not only) to provide a more comprehensive understanding of soil health dynamics and trend, as well as response to policies and management strategies. Enhancing the accessibility and interoperability of soil data across platforms and sources can facilitate collaborative research and accelerate advancements in soil health management. More high-resolution temporal and spatial data are needed to capture short-term soil dynamics and site-specific variations that can influence broader interpretations of soil health trends. On the other hand, independent advisory services on soil health for land managers often face challenges such as limited access to comprehensive data, variability in expertise, and the inability to provide tailored recommendations specific to diverse local conditions. These services may struggle with integrating complex and dynamic factors that influence soil health, leading to generic advice that may not effectively address specific needs. There is an opportunity in utilizing cutting-edge technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse vast, complex soil data sets, extract meaningful patterns, and develop predictive models that can enhance the quality of advice provided, improving decision-making, and fostering more effective, sustainable soil management practices. Proposed activities should: design and implement standardised protocols and procedures for harmonised soil data collection, ensuring consistency and comparability, from different LTEs and regions across the EU and Horizon Europe Associated Countries; develop robust frameworks for integrating LTE data with other relevant soil health datasets, including outputs from Mission Soil projects, to create comprehensive soil health databases; develop open-access and user-friendly interoperable systems and platforms to improve data sharing and accessibility, allowing researchers, advisors, land managers and other stakeholders to easily access and utilize comprehensive soil health information; build a network of at least 50 LTEs covering most representative pedo-climatic regions in the EU and Associated Countries involving at least 7 owning institutions, to test Programme areas: Horizon Europe (HORIZON), Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness, Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Keywords: Long-term soil monitoring, Soil biodiversity, Soil biology, Soil chemistry, Soil fertility, Soil management, Soil monitoring, Soil physics, Soil science, AI decision support systems, Artificial intelligence, Decision support system, Decision support tools, Long-term field experiments, Sustainable soil management