Work Package1: Project management:
At Cambridge University, Prof Silvia Vignolini and Floriana Misceo (respectively the ITN coordinator and the ITN manager) have been responsible for managing the project and ensuring the timely implementation of the action as agreed with the Commission.
Work Package 2: Recruitment
All the 9 ESR positions were filled with outstanding young scientists from Italy, Spain, France, Cuba ad China. We achieved a very well gender balanced team, with 4 female and 5 male early stage researchers.
Work Package 3: Research
BEEP research covered diverse topics, from the optical characterisations of the nanostructures of coloured seaweeds and diatom microalgae, to the physical characterization of the phothosynthetic processess in the marine phototrophs and the development of self-sustaining bio-photoreactors. A summary of BEEP's research results can be found in the Impact Section below.
Work Package 4: Training
The ESRs worked under the supervision of distinguished scientists, thereby receiving world-class training-by-research. BEEP ITN has implemented 4 training workshops and a week long summer school in Italy. The training included technology transfer and innovation, ethics, introduction to R&D in industry, preparation for job search, public outreach via exhibitions, and writing and presentation skills. The ESRs undertook secondments at some of the other research groups of the network and at the industry partners' premises, which exposed them to interdisciplinary research environments, fostered collaborative teamwork across research groups, and gave them first-hand experience of R&D in companies.
Work Package 5: Communication, dissemination, and exploitations.
The BEEP ITN created a website and is also present in social Media, with a Twitter (
https://twitter.com/BEEP_MSCA2020(s’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)) and YouTube account (
https://www.youtube.com/@BEEP_MSCA(s’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)). The students have regularly shared news related to the BEEP research on Twitter, partecipated to a number of conferences where they presented the BEEP work in the form of posters and talks. Moreover, 13 scientific papers have been published, which acknowledge the ITN funding, and many more are being prepared. The ESRs reached out to the general public during the Night of the Researchers in France and at the Festival della Scienza in Italy, one of the largest scientific outreach events in Europe, attracting thousands of visitors every year. Our students also enthusiastically produced a few outreach videos, available both on our BEEP YouTube Channel and our website and advertised through our Twitter account.
