WP2 – Strategic Communication, Outreach and Sustainability
Phil Burrows
“Our work package aims to enhance the impact of EPITA’s achievements across the accelerator technology sector, promote sustainable solutions, and advance accelerator-based applications for societal benefit.
Communication is the life-blood of the EPITA project; it will be vital for enabling our ambitious project to function effectively, as well as for sharing and promoting our work with our stakeholders, the broader scientific community, and society.”
The objective of WP2 is to ensure clear, engaging, and strategic external communication, showcasing project activities, progress, and outcomes to a variety of audiences. Several outreach activities are also planned, including the Challenge Based Innovation events that will engage students and encourage their involvement in the accelerator field. Finally, the work package will create a framework to assess and improve the sustainability of large-scale research infrastructures.
This work package includes three tasks.
Task 2.1: Strategic Communication, Outreach and Public Value
Develop and implement a comprehensive Communication Plan to proactively engage diverse audiences (including citizens, policymakers, industry, and the scientific community) throughout the project lifecycle. This involves establishing the EPITA website as the primary information hub, complemented by multi-channel engagement via social media (leveraging partner networks), the newsletter Accelerating News, and targeted events. All communication will prioritise accessible, engaging content to showcase project activities, progress, and societal contributions, ensuring high visibility of EU funding and building public trust. UOXF will coordinate the task. The Project Communication Officer will be fully embedded within the EPITA Management Team.
Task 2.2: Challenge-Based Innovation, Capacity Building in Accelerator Technology
Task will organise two immersive 10-day programmes based on the Challenge-Based Innovation (CBI) model. Each challenge will involve four interdisciplinary teams of students from diverse geographical and academic backgrounds. Participants will receive expert lectures and mentorship both before and during the challenge to ground their innovative problem-solving in robust scientific and technological understanding. At the end of the challenge, each team will present their novel solutions to a jury of scientists and knowledge transfer experts who will provide feedback on their projects. A hands-on, problem-solving environment will be provided to enhance students’ skills, knowledge, and competencies in applying accelerator technology to real-world problems. Teams’ diversity will encourage varied perspectives on complex problems. A jury will evaluate solutions for technical feasibility, innovation potential, and societal relevance.
This Task develops and harmonises science-specific methodologies to assess and improve sustainability in large-scale Research Infrastructures (RIs). Building on existing efforts – from energy efficiency measures to environmental life cycle assessments and advanced data management approaches – it establishes a common framework tailored to the unique characteristics of publicly funded research institutions. The project aligns carbon footprinting, Life Cycle Assessments (LCA), and sustainability indicators, harmonises definitions and system boundaries, and develops guidelines adapted to the RI context. In parallel, it introduces a Design for Sustainability (D4S) seminar concept and pilots targeted training modules for engineers and researchers, strengthening practical competencies in sustainable material selection, life cycle thinking, and technical feasibility. Through international workshops and collaboration with external experts, the work package ensures methodological robustness while balancing scientific excellence, operational functionality, and funder requirements.