Consortium Meeting in Lisbon and First Review Meeting

The GreenChips-EDU consortium planned to meet in Lisbon for its Consortium Meeting on Tuesday, 29 April, followed by the First Review Meeting on Wednesday, 30 April. However, a major power outage across the Iberian Peninsula on Monday, 28 April, disrupted many travel plans. Several partners were left stranded at airports or arrived in Lisbon without access to their luggage.

Despite these challenges, the Consortium Meeting went ahead on Tuesday in a reduced format. About two-thirds of the partners gathered at INESC-ID, the research center in central Lisbon that kindly hosted us. Some partners continued their journey to Lisbon the following day, while others were unable to travel at all due to cancelled flights.

Thankfully, the Review Meeting on Wednesday took place in a hybrid format as scheduled and ran smoothly. The project team was pleased to receive positive feedback: the reported results met expectations, and the project is clearly on track. The reviewers particularly highlighted the high quality of the reports, deliverables, presentations, and templates, as well as the strong collaboration across the consortium.

Looking ahead, the Project Officer and the external reviewer encouraged the consortium to focus on two key priorities: establishing a transparent scholarship scheme and delivering the promised financial support for students. In addition, the partners were asked to develop a feedback mechanism that captures key performance indicators (KPIs), especially regarding whether the GreenChips-EDU (Master) courses are equipping students with the skills needed to enter the semiconductor industry.

With a few additional recommendations noted, the meeting concluded on a very positive note. After celebrating this important milestone, some partners returned home while others stayed on to enjoy a few days in Lisbon.