Mission Arenas

The purpose of EU TalentOn is to let young European researchers contribute creatively to the 5 EU Missions, defined in accordance with the framework of the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.

5 Mission Arenas

The topics and research problems undertaken as part of EU TalentOn are strictly related to these EU Missions.

For each Mission Arena, there is first a brief description of the way the relevant subject is conceptualised within the Horizon Europe framework, and then a brief list of scientific subjects that may be of interest to potential EU TalentOn participants.

The Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change focuses on supporting EU regions, cities and local authorities in their efforts to build resilience against the impacts of climate change.

The Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change focuses on supporting EU regions, cities and local authorities in their efforts to build resilience against the impacts of climate change.

The Mission contributes to putting the EU’s adaptation strategy in practice by helping the regions to:

1) better understand the climate risks they are and will be confronted with in the future; 

2) develop their pathways to be better prepared and cope with the changing climate; 

3) test and deploy on the ground innovative solutions needed to build resilience.

Scientific subjects related to this Mission Arena include (but are not limited to):

Adaptation of ecosystems

  • Coastal zone management, coastal defense and hardening
  • Biosystem-level adaptation, including management of biodiversity and ecosystem connectivity
  • Water system security (also see: Mission No. 3)

Adaptation of urban and infrastructure systems (also see: Mission No. 4)

  • Sustainable land use and urban planning
  • Resilient power systems
  • Investigating and introducing new energy sources

‘Human life-centered’ adaptations

  • Health and health systems
  • Livelihood diversification (including through diverse building practices, food and lifestyle)
  • Adaptation via changing patterns of human mobility
  • Adaptation via human values, identities and philosophies

The Mission on Cancer focuses on improving the lives of more than 3 million people by 2030 through prevention, cure and for those affected by cancer including their families, to live longer and better.

Cancer: improving the lives of more than 3 million people by 2030 through prevention, cure and for those affected by cancer including their families, to live longer and better.

According to the European Cancer Information System, each year 2,7 million people are diagnosed with cancer and 1,3 million lost their lives due to this disease in Europe. If no further action is taken, the number of people newly diagnosed will increase to more than 3,24 million by 2040. The Cancer Mission has defined clear and ambitious objectives to reverse these frightening trends.

By joining efforts across Europe with citizens, stakeholders and Member States, the Mission on Cancer together with the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan will provide a better understanding of cancer, allow for earlier diagnosis and optimisation of treatment and improve cancer patients’ quality of life during and beyond their cancer treatment.

Scientific subjects related to this Mission Arena include (but are not limited to):

Cancer prevention

  • Cancer screening
  • Cancer risk assessment
  • Lifestyle and cancer
  • AI for cancer detection

Cancer research and therapeutics

  • Cellular processes and causes of cancer
  • Tumorigenesis and the tumor environment
  • Cancer stem cells
  • Current and novel oncological therapies: radiotherapy, immunotherapy (incl. CAR-T), targeted molecular therapy, oncolytic viral therapy etc.

The human factor

  • Medical care financing in cancer
  • Living with cancer
  • Communication in doctor-patient relationships

The Mission on Restore our Ocean and Waters aims to protect and restore the health of our ocean and waters through research and innovation, citizen engagement and blue investments.

With a 2030 target, the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters” aims to protect and restore the health of our ocean and waters through research and innovation, citizen engagement and blue investments. The Mission’s new approach will address the ocean and waters as one and play a key role in achieving climate neutrality and restoring nature.

Cross-cutting enabling actions will support this objective, in particular broad public mobilisation and engagement and a digital ocean and water knowledge system, known as Digital Twin Ocean.

The Mission supports regional engagement and cooperation through area-based “lighthouses” in major sea/river basins: Atlantic-Arctic, Mediterranean Sea, Baltic-North Sea, and Danube-Black Sea. Mission lighthouses are sites to pilot, demonstrate, develop  and deploy the Mission activities across EU seas and river basins.

Scientific subjects related to this Mission Arena include (but are not limited to):

State of the global ocean

  • Physical, chemical and biological changes
  • Physical and biological responses to climate-induced drivers
  • Commercial fishing: the current state and future perspectives

Changes to the water systems across the hydrological cycles

  • The cryosphere: snow, glaciers, permafrost
  • Extreme events: floods, droughts
  • Groundwater and water quality (see also: Mission 5)

Water as a human necessity

  • Water and agriculture
  • Water, sanitation and hygiene
  • Water-related conflicts
  • Water and human mobility and migration
  • Indigenous people and cultural water use

Cities play a pivotal role in achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Since climate mitigation is heavily dependent on urban action, we need to support cities in accelerating their green and digital transformation.

Cities play a pivotal role in achieving climate neutrality by 2050, the goal of the European Green Deal. They take up only 4% of the EU’s land area, but they are home to 75% of EU citizens. Furthermore, cities consume over 65% of the world’s energy and account for more than 70% of global CO2 emissions.

Since climate mitigation is heavily dependent on urban action, we need to support cities in accelerating their green and digital transformation. In particular, European cities can substantially contribute to the Green Deal target of reducing emissions by 55% by 2030 and, in more practical terms, to offer cleaner air, safer transport and less congestion and noise to their citizens.

The Cities Mission will involve local authorities, citizens, businesses, investors as well as regional and national authorities to: 1) Deliver 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030; 2) Ensure that these cities act as experimentation and innovation hubs to enable all European cities to follow suit by 2050

Scientific subjects related to this Mission Arena include (but are not limited to):

Smart healthcare

  • Monitoring of patients using IoT devices
  • Healthcare planning through predictive analytics
  • Distributed health monitoring through wearable devices

Smart governance

  • Real-time traffic management to reduce congestion and improve road safety
  • Increased citizen participation through new channels for engagement and communication between citizens and their government

Smart applications in energy

  • Smart grids and energy storage systems
  • Renewable energy management systems, including the use of predictive modeling for solar and wind energy

Smart infrastructure

  • Smart building systems (to measure and manage variables such as energy consumption or indoor air quality)
  • Bridge monitoring systems
  • Road condition monitoring systems (including use of publicly available video data to monitor road quality)

The human factor

  • Social and digital exclusion (not all citizens have equal access to digital technologies)
  • Privacy and surveillance (especially important, because smart cities are data-driven)

The main goal of the Mission A Soil Deal for Europe is to establish 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition towards healthy soils by 2030.

The main goal of the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ is to establish 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition towards healthy soils by 2030.

Life on Earth depends on healthy soils. Soil is the foundation of our food systems. It provides clean water and habitats for biodiversity while contributing to climate resilience. It supports our cultural heritage and landscapes and is the basis of our economy and prosperity.

The Mission leads the transition towards healthy soils by: 1) funding an ambitious research and innovation programme with a strong social science component; 2) putting in place an effective network of 100 living labs and lighthouses to co-create knowledge, test solutions and demonstrate their value in real-life conditions; 3) developing a harmonised framework for soil monitoring in Europe; 4) raising people’s awareness on the vital importance of soils.

Scientific subjects related to this Mission Arena include (but are not limited to):

Elementary soil science and its applications

  • Soil structure and water content, incl. effects of climate change
  • Soil erosion and runoff, prevention by plant covers and other means
  • Soil nutrients and organic matter
  • Soil microbial communities, fungal communities

Agriculture, industry and soils

  • Fertilization and over-fertilization
  • Soil heavy metal pollution
  • Use of biomass-derived biochar for enhanced nutrient availability
  • Unconventional hydrocarbon deposits and soil safety

Soils and humans

  • Sustainable agricultural practices
  • Indigenous knowledge and practices in soil management