For the last 3 years, HSbooster.eu has designed and delivered the first Standardisation Booster which has provided mentoring and training services to over 300 EU-projects. The final HSbooster.eu event brought together the very projects and researchers who have benefitted from the booster services, standards experts who have delivered the services, policy makers who funded the booster, and Standardisation Bodies who can benefit from greater input from the research community.
Since the project started, the HSbooster.eu consortium has worked to raise awareness of how contributing to standardisation can increase value of research results across different areas the EU's Work Programme. Through over 30 webinars and events, the publication of online resources such as the Standardisation Orientation Tool and mentoring services, the project has helped shift the mindset of researchers and helped them to plan project standardisation strategies more efficiently.
A collaborative effort for knowledge valorisation
The event attracted over 50 participants and showcased how standardisation can serve as a crucial vehicle for translating research into tangible societal benefits. Representatives from academia, industry, and standardisation bodies explored key challenges that projects face, such as the lack of awareness about standardisation pathways, the need for sustained support, and the importance of integrating standardisation from the early stages of research projects.
The Swiss Army Knife of support on standardisation
Participants highlighted the different types of impact that a support service such as the Booster can have on EU-projects which often lack expertise or knowledge on standardisation within their own consortia. Realising that there is a need for support and acting quickly is important. The Nebulous project recognised this and applied for support from the booster as part of their broader strategy. The expert supported them in setting out a strategy that the project was able to act on. The nature of the mentoring provided by experts to projects meant that each service was tailored exactly to the needs of each project through a series of meetings. In the Mobispaces project, the expert was able to match each project result to a specific standard and corresponding Technical Committee. The impact was more disruptive in the FAME project where their original mapping of results to standards was fully revised by the expert who provided a totally different and more accurate perspective.
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This diversity and quality of support is really down the experts that deliver the mentoring services. HSbooster.eu has recruited over 200 standardisation experts with around 100 now experienced in providing this tailored type of support to EU projects. They have been able to not only share knowledge and best practices, but also their passion for standardisation with large networks of projects and complex public and private stakeholder ecosystems present in a cross-section of research domains. Within the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities EU mission, the Booster provided a golden opportunity to build capacity in staff and members of these groups with the NetworkNature and NetZeroCities projects and established a liaison with the key Technical Committees TC465 Sustainable and Smart Cities and Communities.
Did you miss the event? You can catch up on all of the presentations on Zenodo
Success stories and challenges from the field
Throughout the day, project representatives shared their experiences and the role of how standardisation experts recruited by HSbooster.eu have played in their standardisation journey. From navigating the landscape of standardisation bodies to actively contributing to new and revised standards, the discussions underscored the real-world impact of the Booster’s tools, consultancy services, and training programmes.
Practical examples of experts have aided projects to contribute to ongoing standardisation activities were also highlighted. In the PONDERFUL project, the expert was able to support the project to assess and validate which of their project reports, which addressed climate change issues related to ponds, were most suitable to share with standardisation groups. The SHINTO project, which creates a new market for self-healing structural components in the soft robotics market, is now creating a new standard to benchmark and compare materials, which will help them take their results to market. To do this, they have established a new terminology and methodology, which is now moving forward through the relevant standardisation committees.
There are many more real-world success stories from projects that benefitted from HSbooster.eu’s services on our Success Stories page.
Live polls conducted during the event reinforced the common challenges faced by projects, including limited expertise, short-term funding, and difficulties in engaging with standardisation organisations. Participants also expressed a strong need for continued support beyond the project’s conclusion, highlighting the value of services provided by the Booster such as standards intelligence, stakeholder engagement, and post-project assistance. There were many calls from participants for a follow-up Booster service to address these issues and continue to support projects.
The Training Academy: Building skills for the future
A highlight of the event was the multi-layered HSbooster.eu Training Academy, which provides structured learning opportunities on standardisation. With a massive 25 courses developed across multiple levels, the academy has created a foundation layer for researchers and innovators to navigate the world of standards. Over 20 training webinars and workshops have provided an extra layer of knowledge and the opportunity to engage with experts on a variety of topics and are available online.
Similarly, the interactive Serious Smiley Game has emerged as a particularly impactful tool, demonstrating how gamification can enhance engagement and learning.
Addressing the gender balance
HSbooster.eu has also tried to buck the trend when it comes to gender imbalance. In a famously male-dominated sector, the HSbooster.eu consortium took a positive approach to actively promoting the participation of female experts to deliver services. In addition, over 40% of project applicants to the services were women while 45% of the speakers at the event were also women.
Looking Ahead: Recommendations for the Future Standardisation Booster Framework
As the HSbooster.eu project reaches its conclusion, discussions turned to how its legacy can be sustained. Experts and policymakers outlined recommendations for a future booster, emphasising the need for long-term frameworks, stronger collaboration between stakeholders, and the integration of standardisation into EU funding programmes. The event made it clear that standardisation is not just a technical process but a strategic enabler of innovation with far-reaching societal implications.
HSbooster.eu has laid a strong foundation, but the journey of integrating standardisation into European R&I is far from over. The event served as a call to action for continued efforts in ensuring that research results are effectively translated into standards that drive progress and innovation across Europe.
With the first edition of HSbooster.eu approaching its conclusion, the consortium is now discussing how support services can be continued and training webinars and workshops continued. Watch this space for news on this.
