Objectives of the project

With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the overarching aim of the FOCAL project is to establish a doctoral training network to educate a new generation of highly qualified doctoral candidates in developing innovative aerial and space optical wireless technologies to enable ubiquitous connectivity, resilience, and quantum-proof security in future telecommunication networks. In addition to contributing to the fundamental understanding and technical know-how of such networks through co-supervised individual research projects, FOCAL will train talented and innovative researchers with multidisciplinary expertise and skills that are desirable in this European industrial sector. This will be achieved through a combination of theoretical and hands-on research training provided by a unique consortium of 16 academic and 10 industrial partners from 8 countries.

In a nutshell, FOCAL will tackle key challenges in satellite communications and QKD by uniting leading researchers from industry and academic institutions. Doctoral candidates will also gain hands-on training, contributing to and benefiting from cutting-edge advancements.