Contents:
ERA-Net
AirTN
Work Programme AirTN-FP7
AirTN Project Information Downloads
Contact
ERA-Net
The objective of the ERA-NET scheme is to step up the cooperation and coordination of research activities carried out at a national or regional level in the Member States and Associated States through:
- the networking of research activities conducted at national or regional level, and
- the mutual opening of national and regional research programmes.
The schema will contribute to making a reality of the European Research Area by improving the coherence and coordination access Europe of such research programmes. The schema will also enable national systems to take on tasks collectively that they would not have been able to tackle independently.
AirTN
The Aeronautics ERA-Net AirTN-Air Transport Net- is one of the key enablers for he prosperous development of aeronautics in Europe.
Europe must be in a position to take full advantage of the predicted significant growth in air transport by 2020. A state-of-the-art air transport industry is a prerequisite for the EU to maintain it position as a world leader. In order to prepare for this, AirTN was created to establish synergies between aeronautics stakeholders both throughout Europe and third countries.
Aeronautics and Air Transport belong to the largest and important industries in the EU, not only in terms of the transportation of people and goods, but also for European manufacturing as the whole. The air transport industry in Europe currently employs over 3 million people and is predicted to growth significantly until 2020. So if Europe is going to expand its aeronautics industry, it needs to be supported by strong research and development capabilities in all areas as well as modern infrastructure, and supply chain operations, whilst addressing customer and passengers' needs.
Growth and competitiveness are important objectives along with sustainable development and addressing environmental goals. So EU Member States must pinpoint opportunities for collaboration on activities that they would not have otherwise undertaken independently, due to financial or technical constrains. The Aeronautics ERA-Net AirTN is a consortium of 23 partners from 16 EU Member States and Switzerland, which came together to enhance Europ's aviation industry to prepare for future expansion and competitive success. The initiative first received support under the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) and many work package objectives were completed during this phase. Continued support under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) has allowed further development and more involvement and collaborations between Member States.
One of AirTN's foremost goals was to create a better awareness of the research development mechanism that already exists in Europe such as ACARE (Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe). This was set up in 2001 to create a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) to influence all European aeronautics stakeholders, and GARTEUR (Group for Aeronautical Research and Technology in Europe), established to drive forward aeronautics research collaboration in Europe.
AirTN has successfully established and maintained an extensive network of European aeronautics stakeholder groups that include ACARE and GARTEUR along with universities, research institutes, manufactures and airports.
Other programmes that AirTN is working with include the Joint Technology Initiative "Clean Sky", the Single European Sky ATM Research Joint Undertaking (SESAR), the National Contact Point Network, EUROCONTROL (European Organisation for the Safety or Air Navigation), which is made up of 38 European states with the aims of improving and coordinating air traffic control across Europe, and the ETNA-European Transport National Contact Point Alliance. Working with these organisations contributes to strengthen the focus of aeronautics R&D activities under the ACARE umbrella.
AirTN's members have brought a wide range of expertise including extensive knowledge of funding programmes, best practise and a solid links with industry and the research base. They have also developed strong links with aeronautics industries and government agencies in third countries, which provides a good opportunity to secure links with foreign markets.
Participation of new Members States has strongly encouraged and this has proved beneficial for smaller countries that don't have a major aeronautics industry. A Member State that has joined AirTN during its inception in FP6 is Hungary. Moreover, the consortium has received a request from Croatia regarding a membership within the network.
The main objectives of AirTN were to strengthen the links across Europe, to avoid duplication of effort, and increase the competitiveness of the industry. It is essential that Europe makes the best use of its skills and research abilities to tackle societal challenges such as security and safety and the reduction of emissions.
Synergies have improved through the encouragement of joint research projects between Member States and with third countries to create a strong foundation for the further R&D cooperation. Information exchange and best practise have also led to more effective networking.
Work programme AirTN-FP7
Five Work Packages address the following main activities:
WP1 covers the overall management and coordination of the network activities.
WP2 will perform an information collection of existing research programmes. It will identify possible research topics for joint activities. It will provide an updated catalogue of aeronautical research infrastructures in various European countries and analysis of corresponding investment policies, priorities and mechanism. It will work on processes for implementing joint activities.
WP3 is responsible for the development of documentation and process for implementing joint activities. It aims to maximise the added value for those participating in joint activities. Building on the results of AirTN FP6, WP3 will provide best practise information to member/associated states aiming to set up joint activities or joint research programmes. Experiences and results of other ERA-Nets will be used as an input to define the best possible route to supporting activities. It will support both modalities of joint activities: Project-by-project basis and structured approach.
WP4 aims to prepare the ERA-Net for trans-national programmes by developing schemes and procedures, and also to provide plans and facilities for the network with the possibility of becoming sustainable post EC funding. These aims will be further supported by multinational pilot actions, joint activities and joint calls on some widely used components and instruments of national and international programmes.
WP5 addresses the dissemination including the pro-active integration of the results from the AirTN-FP7 activities that are released to the public. The public Web-site is used to actively promote the activities of AirTN-FP7 to all relevant stakeholders in aeronautics.
The aim of special fora is bringing together specialists from all over Europe to deepen topics of general interests (e.g. horizontal topics) to disseminate European policy and results from existing (European and national) projects and to foster dissemination from existing projects (EU or other) throughout the EU Member States. AirTN will organise a conference for the dissemination of the results addressing also representatives of other ERA-Nets and other interested parties.
Competition in the aeronautics industry worldwide will continue to be fierce and new technology is developing all the time. The legacy of AirTN will be in the increased trust between the involved countries of Europe will lead to a flow of communication and collaboration and the creation of a truly innovative EU aeronautics industry.
AirTN Project Information Downloads
- AirTN Flyer (PDF)
- AirTN Poster Objectives (PDF)
- AirTN Poster Partners (PDF)
- AirTN Introductory presentation from Aerodays 2011 (PDF)
Contact
DLR e.V. PT-LF
Nicole Ewinger
Königswinterer Str. 522-524
53227 Bonn
Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 228 447-668
Fax: +49 (0) 228 447-710
e-Mail: nicole.ewinger@dlr.de
Web: www.airtn.eu
