A consortium featuring the SFI Centre for Photonics (IPIC), headquartered in Tyndall National Institute, Cork, has been successfully selected by the European Commission’s Horizon Europe initiative to host doctoral students as part of a prestigious Marie Sklodowska-Curie Training Network.
The project, known as MWP4SPACE (MicroWave Photonic Technologies for Communications and Sensing Applications in Space), is a highly innovative training network whose proposed outcomes will have applications in fields such as space research, defence, earth observations and satellite communications. The MWP4SPACE industrial doctorate network will train the next generation of specialists in Integrated Microwave Photonic devices and systems in the framework of satellite and space applications.
They will gain skills to integrate compact photonic and radio frequency circuits, and cutting-edge knowledge of photonic integrated circuit (PIC) design, fabrication, packaging, validation and qualification both at the device and system level – competences for which there is a fast-growing demand in the global satellite industry.
Brian Corbett (Tyndall), Liam Barry (DCU)
MWP4SPACE will offer a unique education program for 15 young researchers structured in industrially facing research projects and network-wide training activities by companies and universities which are world-class players in both photonics and space technologies. The successful doctoral candidates will be key actors in the transfer of knowledge developed for terrestrial applications for space applications.
Tyndall lead Dr Fatih Atar, researcher in the III-V Materials and Devices Group, commented “Besides the opportunity of working in a highly prestigious programme with very reputable partners, I am looking forward to the extra validation of the proposed work by interacting with industrial partners such as VPI Photonics, Bright Photonics and Camgraphic”.
Martin O’Connell, Head of EU Programmes in IPIC, welcomed the award stating “While the award aligns with all of our Tyndall 2025 strategic goals, involvement in networks such as MWP4Space strengthens our research excellence while also exposing our researchers to relevant industrial and business environments and will significantly contribute to their employability by placing them as future leaders in the next generation of satellite communication and earth observation technologies”
The project, comprising 11 partners (6 academic, 5 industrial) has received funding of 4M€ and is coordinated by Universidad De Vigo. MWP4SPACE also features other Irish beneficiaries i.e. Dublin City University (IPIC PI Professor Liam Barry) and MBryonics Limited as well as Pilot Photonics for training and secondments.
Partners: Universidad de Vigo (ES), Bright Photonics (NL), MBryonics (IE), National, Inter-University Consortium for Telecommunications (IT), Scuola Superiore di Studi
Universitari e di Perfezionamento Sant’Anna (IT), Dublin City University (IE), University College Cork (IE), Alter (ES), Uni Ghent (BE), III-V Lab (FR), Camgraphic (IT). The project runs from October 2022 and will continue until 2026.
