SMEs’ Role in European Innovation: Framework Recommendations to Enable…

Europe is entering the design phase of the 10th Framework Programme (FP10). The choices made now, namely funding rates, eligibility conditions, governance representation, evaluation criteria, and consortium rules, will shape European research and innovation (R&I) for the next decade. For Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), these choices are not operational details: they determine whether SMEs remain peripheral participants in European R&I or become central actors of Europe’s technological capacity. This Position Paper is the contribution of the NetworldEurope SME Working Group (WG) to that design phase. Its added value lies in translating aggregated SME experience into a structured, policy-oriented perspective that directly informs the design parameters of FP10. Find more information here: https://www.networldeurope.eu/smes-role-in-european-innovation-framework-recommendations-to-enable-better-sme-contributions-in-fp10/

Deliverable 3.2: Cloud continuum, service mesh and resource orchestration

This document represents the final software outcomes and architectural implementations of Task 3.1, reporting on the design, execution, and deployment of the Edge-Cloud continuum layer as well as the DataOps module for the SAFE-6G framework. The involved components compose the overall framework that manages distributed computing resources and orchestrates the lifecycle of  microservices across heterogeneous domains, also monitoring their status and performance. At the core of the continuum implementation is a Meta-Operating System based on ECLIPSE aeriOS. This system offers a programmable environment designed to integrate seamlessly with standard Cloud Native technologies. It successfully enables the federation of delocalized computing domains  and provides continuous observability, identity management, and distributed service orchestration using Kubernetes as its foundation. The Meta-OS relies on critical components including a FIWARE  Orion-LD Context Broker for sharing context data without replication, and an enhanced dual-level  orchestration engine to automate the deployment, upgrade, and removal of services packaged as  Helm charts or containers. The flexibility of its data model has allowed the extension of its default  definition with SAFE-6G specific entities and attributes. Also, the exposure capabilities of the 
continuum have been secured by an API Gateway built on KrakenD, fully integrated with OpenCAPIF  Release 3 to facilitate automated API discoverability, access management, and interaction with the broader SAFE-6G Trust Functions. Find more: https://safe-6g.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/D3.2_SAFE-6G_V1.0.pdf

 8th Plenary Meeting

Take a glimpse into the highlights of the 8th SAFE-6G Plenary Meeting in Bordeaux, where project partners gathered to review the latest technical achievements, share progress across work packages, and strengthen collaboration as the project enters its final phase. The meeting provided an important opportunity to align upcoming milestones, validate key developments, and coordinate the final activities that will contribute to delivering secure, trustworthy, and resilient 6G solutions. Together, the consortium continues to drive innovation and shape the future of next-generation connectivity.

Poster Session

NCSRD and INFOLYSiS Partners presented the Cognitive Coordinator Poster at the new premises of NCSR Demokritos. Partners had the chance to present the Cognitive Coordinator function of our project in the researchers of NCSR Demokritos

61st Summer School of the National Centre for Scientific…

The 61st Summer School of the National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos” (NCSR Demokritos) will take place from 6 to 10 July 2026.

For one week, hundreds of undergraduate and postgraduate students in science and technology disciplines from universities across Greece will have the opportunity to experience research firsthand, receive specialized training, and network at the Centre’s facilities in Agia Paraskevi, Athens.

This year’s programme includes:

• Presentations by researchers from all Institutes of the Centre, including the newly established Institute of Quantum Computing and Quantum Technologies

• Poster sessions, where PhD candidates of the Centre will showcase their research work

• A speed mentoring session organized in collaboration with the Centre’s Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Committee

• Guided tours of laboratories and research infrastructures

• Information sessions on postgraduate studies and scholarship opportunities offered by various foundations and organizations in Greece

• Workshops, seminars, and a dedicated Career Day

The Summer School is a long-standing institution that, for six decades, has inspired, educated, and actively supported the next generation of scientists in Greece.

For more information and registration:  summerschool.demokritos.gr

Registration deadline: 25 June 2026

Trials and Pilots Brochure No.2

The Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU) is advancing Europe’s connectivity ambitions through its Trials and Pilots (T&Ps), a key instrument under Horizon Europe. These initiatives are designed to validate advanced and Beyond 5G (B5G) and pre-6G technologies in real operational environments, with a strong focus on strategic vertical sectors that are critical to Europe’s digital and green transitions. By concentrating efforts on a limited number of verticals per project, the SNS JU ensures greater depth of validation, measurable performance outcomes, and clearer pathways towards market adoption and standardisation.

To date, the SNS JU has funded 80 projects in total since 2022, through its first three Calls for Action, while an additional 20 projects are expected to start shortly, funded under SNS Calls 4 and 5. SNS JU enters its final phase in 2026 and will conclude its operations through the funding of an additional number of projects through Call 6 (2026) and Call 7 (2027), with an additional total funding of more than €250 million. As the programme matures, so do the projects, delivering more advanced and mature Trials & Pilots, bringing cutting-edge 5G and 5G-Advanced enabled technologies and solutions closer to real-world implementation. This progress further highlights the importance of the T&P Brochure as a snapshot of the experimentation efforts of the SNS JU projects, tracking year-on-year progress and developments.

The portfolio of SNS JU projects is organised into specific Streams and Strands, including Stream A, “Smart communication components, systems and networks for 5G mid-term Evolution systems” – included only in Call 1 – Stream B, “Research for revolutionary technology advancement towards 6G” / “6G Enabling Technologies”, Stream C, “SNS experimental infrastructures”, Stream D, “Large-Scale SNS Trials and Pilots”, and Coordination and Support Actions (CSAs). The T&P Brochure, naturally, focuses on SNS JU Stream D projects as their core focal point was large-scale experimentation, even including Open Calls to extend and complement their vertical use cases, without however excluding mature experimental efforts from other streams.

The first edition of the SNS JU Trials and Pilots Brochure was released at an early stage, in May 2025, and featured a total of eight selected T&Ps. It built on the highly successful experience of the EC H2020 5G Infrastructure Public Private Partnership (PPP), which produced a series of five impactful T&P brochures. In parallel, drawing on the PPP Verticals Cartography experience, the SNS JU also developed (and continues to develop) the Verticals Engagement Tracker (VET) to monitor activities across vertical sectors.

The process for the second SNS JU Trials and Pilots Brochure was launched in January 2026, aggregating information from SNS JU Project Trials & Pilots, including network architecture, deployment details, key results obtained, and innovative features enabled by 5G-Advanced / B5G, and emerging 6G technologies. The information collected highlights the benefits and added value delivered by 5G Advanced / B5G and 6G networks, enabling novel and innovative services and applications not possible to be supported with previous generation networks.

A total of 28 Trials & Pilots were received by SNS JU projects for the second edition of the brochure and were evaluated by the appointed evaluation committee comprised of experts of varying background representing key bodies of the SNS JU ecosystem, including the SNS JU Office and the European Commission, the 6G-IA, the SNS JU Steering Board and Technology Board leaders, as well as SNS JU Working Group leaders.

The selected 12 T&Ps featured in this second edition of the T&Ps Brochure are the top-ranked submissions, representing scientific excellence, real-world deployment, and realistic problem-solving in the field, validating B5G/6G enabled solutions of a high maturity level. Importantly, the featured T&Ps demonstrate strong social relevance, economic potential, and/or the validation of ground-breaking services and applications, illustrating how 5G Advanced / B5G and 6G are driving innovation and impact.

Find it online here: https://smart-networks.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/tp-v8.pdf 

Project Officer visit at SAFE-6G booth

A highlight of the event was the visit of SAFE-6G Project Officer Odysseas Pyrovolakis to the project’s exhibition booth. During his visit, consortium partners presented a live demonstration of the SAFE-6G solutions, showcasing the project’s latest technological developments and achievements. The demonstration provided an excellent opportunity to discuss the progress made so far, exchange valuable feedback, and explore the impact of SAFE-6G innovations on the future of secure, sustainable, and AI-native 6G networks.

SAFE-6G at EuCNC & 6G Summit 2026 

SAFE-6G had a strong presence at the EuCNC & 6G Summit 2026, held in Málaga, Spain, from 2–5 June 2026, contributing to a wide range of technical workshops, special sessions, panel discussions, demonstrations, and scientific presentations addressing the future of secure, sustainable, and AI-native 6G networks.

The project actively contributed to several workshops through presentations delivered by Harilaos Koumaras, covering key topics such as security in 6G networks, AI-native data platforms, DataOps and MLOps frameworks, dataset generation and curation, operational sustainability, and the convergence of research, software, and standardization towards AI-native network architectures.

SAFE-6G also presented its latest research results through the paper entitled “An Open-Source CAMARA UE Location API Implementation over 3GPP NEF for AI-Native Crowd Assessment in 6G Networks”, highlighting innovative approaches for leveraging network exposure capabilities in future intelligent communication systems.

Beyond technical presentations, SAFE-6G participated in several high-level discussions and special sessions, including The SME Factor in Europe’s Sovereignty, The Value Approach of 6G: The Role of Key Value Indicators in Design and Societal Impact, and Architecture Advancements towards 6G: Pre-Standardization, Key Technology Enablers, and Facing Challenges. These sessions provided valuable opportunities to exchange insights with industry leaders, researchers, policymakers, and standardization experts shaping the future European 6G ecosystem.

Visitors also had the opportunity to engage directly with the project team at the SAFE-6G exhibition booth (#62), where live demonstrations showcased the project’s latest innovations and technological achievements.

The event provided an excellent platform to disseminate SAFE-6G results, strengthen collaboration with the wider research and innovation community, and contribute to ongoing discussions on secure, sustainable, and AI-native 6G networks.

AI-Driven Reliability in 6G Networks: Enhancing QoE of Real-World…

This paper advances user-centric Artificial Intelligence (AI) frameworks for reliability in fifth-generation and beyond (B5G) networks by examining their use in high-demand services such as video streaming. The proposed framework can leverage multi-layer monitoring across the edge–cloud continuum, application-layer metrics, and 5G core performance data to evaluate reliability through Quality of Experience (QoE) optimization. Results demonstrate that improved frame delivery can be achieved via dynamic resource prediction and proactive resource allocation. The study validates the framework’s scalability in dynamic workload conditions, emphasizing its role in mission-critical video services.

Find more information here: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4001/7/2/35 

SAFE-6G presentation at 6G-VERSUS trials

Our technical manager, Harilaos Koumaras, during his presentation at 6G-VERSUS field trials, presented the B5G Athens experimentation platform and highlighted the importance of SAFE-6G in its evolution. The B5G/6G Athens experimentation platform is an advanced large-scale experimental facility integrating both Beyond 5G (B5G) network infrastructure and an orchestrated computing continuum built and managed using the aerOS Meta-OS. The platform spans two locations within the metropolitan area of Athens—OTE Academy campus and NCSR Demokritos campus—interconnected via dedicated 10G dark fiber links, forming two fully operational experimental networks.