Capacity-building for a Pan-European training partnership for safe and sustainable-by-design nano- and advanced materials: stakeholder-informed perspectives and future directions

The European Commission’s priorities evolved from broad sustainability ambitions to a focus on economic resilience, technological sovereignty, and innovation. Within this agenda, advanced materials (AdMa) play an important role due to their applications across key strategic sectors: mobility, electronics, construction, energy, and health. Safe- and Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) is a proactive approach that integrates functionality, safety, and sustainability during the (re)design of AdMa. Therefore, effective SSbD implementation will require well-trained experts. This article summarizes stakeholder opinions from conferences, interactive workshops, and discussion fora on a proposal for a training program to develop the required SSbD skills of industrial professionals in nano and AdMa. This initial mapping of requirements for a Pan-European training partnership on SSbD in nano- and AdMa revealed a fragmented landscape of expertise, infrastructure, and curricula. To meet the EU’s twin transition goals, the next phase must focus on building a coordinated, modular, and inclusive training ecosystem.