News and events

Participation of NextGEM at the upcoming BioEM 2023 conference

The NextGEM project will participate in BioEM, the world’s largest and most significant bioelectromagnetics conference attracting academic and industrial participants at all career stages from all over the world.

It is a great opportunity for the project to be part of the forum for the exchange of scientific achievements, demonstrating state-of-the-art research, identifying gaps in science and establishing and strengthening our liaison with professional networks.

The conference will take place between the 18th and 2rd of June 2023 at Oxford, UK.

Presentation of the paper “Designing NIKH: the NextGEM Innovation and Knowledge Hub to Access Next Generation Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Exposure and Health Data” in the IEEE CSCN 2022 

The paper “Designing NIKH: the NextGEM Innovation and Knowledge Hub to Access Next Generation Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Exposure and Health Data” was presented by the Coordinator of the NextGEM project, Nikolaos Petroulakis (ICS-FORTH) in the IEEE CSCN 2022 at Thessaloniki, on the 28th of November 2022.

2nd NextGEM meeting in Barcelona 25-26 October 2022

NextGEM is a 48-month Horizon Europe project officially launched on 1st July 2022 with a total budget of 7.56 M€ EU funding under the “Exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) and health” call.

NextGEM held its 2nd plenary meeting and the 1st technical workshop on 25-26 of October 2022, at the International Centre for Numerical Methods in Engineering (CIMNE) premises in Barcelona, Spain.

NextGEM project partners during the second plenary meeting and first technical workshop at Barcelona-Spain in October 2022

The meeting, which was co-organized by CIMNE and the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB, CISC), gathered more than 30 attendees from the 20 European consortium partners, which joined both in-person and via teleconference.

The objective of the meeting was to present work achieved until the present point. Additionally, the technical workshop, which followed the general section of the plenary, focused on the technical aspects of the project. At the end of the two-day event, next steps were decided, as well as the coordination of efforts in internal communication and research planning.

NextGEM vision

NextGEM’s vision is to ensure EU citizens’ healthy living and a safer working environment when employing existing and future Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Field (EMF)-based telecommunication technologies. This will be accomplished by generating relevant knowledge that identifies appropriate control measures of EMF exposure in the residential, public, and occupational settings, trusted by the general public, while also staying in-line with regulations and laws issued by public authorities.

To achieve the above, NextGEM will provide a framework for generating health-relevant scientific knowledge and data in new scenarios of exposure to EMF, in multiple frequency bands. The project also aims to develop and validate tools for evidence-based risk assessment. NextGEM will also create the NextGEM Innovation and Knowledge Hub (NIKH) for EMF and Health, offering a standardised way for European regulatory authorities and the scientific community to store and assess project outcomes and insights into how EMF exposures affect health.

NextGEM Consortium

NextGEM’s consortium consists of 20 organisations located in 10 European countries (i.e. Greece, Italy, Spain, Cyprus, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and Israel). Moreover, the Institute of Computer Science of FORTH (ICS-FORTH) is the overall coordinator of the project.

Each NextGEM partner provides unique expertise, essential for the implementation of the project. Partner accumulated knowledge will empower NextGEM to include measurements and modelling of EMF sources, investigate of potential health effects by experimental human studies, investigate possible causal links between EMF exposure level and duration on potential health effects, perform risk assessment on studies and results and develop an innovation and knowledge hub to be used by scientists, relevant authorities, while also enhancing citizen awareness.

2nd Project meeting and 1st Technical workshop

During the meeting in Barcelona, active work packages leaders presented the work performed and their next steps. Dr. Nikolaos Petroulakis (ICS-FORTH), the coordinator of the project, presented the overall progress of the project, both in project management and technical aspects.

Prof. Fulvio Schettino (University of Cassino) presented the work done in the identification of the requirements analysis, specifications and design, while Dr. Marco Spirito (TU Delft) and Dr. Olga Zeni (CNR IREA) presented the upcoming work on the innovative model and sensor-based technologies for exposure monitoring and assessment of human studies and experimental approaches for assessing biological and health-related effects of EMF, respectively.

Dr. Andreas Gavrielides (eBOS) presented the work performed on project dissemination and communication activities, the next steps in contributions to the CLUE-H cluster of all EMF health projects mandated by the European Commission, as well as policy contributions and exploitation plans for the NextGEM Innovation and Knowledge Hub.

During the technical workshop, four sessions initiated vivid dialogues and sparked numerous enlightening conversations in the areas of:

  1. RF-EMF exposure modelling and measurements, led by The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS).

  2. Experimentation studies and biological effects, led by Sciensano (SC).

  3. Causal links between EMF and potential health effects, led by Sciproof International (SPi).

  4. NextGEM Innovation & Knowledge HUB (NIKH), led by Intracom Telecom (ICOM).

All participants had the opportunity to provide their insights, opinions and ideas, paving a ground of common direction that will be followed towards achieving the objectives of the project.

NextGEM’s next project meeting will take place in Spring 2023 in Naples, Italy, and will be hosted by the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) – Istituto per il rilevamento elettromagnetico dell’ambiente.

More Information and Contact

NextGEM includes an ambitious communication and dissemination programme, with activities meant to maximise the impact of its’ generated results, thus increasing general awareness on the subject. An informative and functional project website, as well as presence in multiple social media platforms are continuously updated to provide full insight to the inner workings and progress of NextGEM.

EMF and Health Cluster (CLUE-H) Kick-off in Thessaloniki 22 September 2022

CLUE-H is Launched in Thessaloniki, Greece, on 22 September 2022
How much are we exposed to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields? How is our electromagnetic environment changing with the introduction of new wireless technologies, in particular 5G? Is there any impact on our health and the environment?

These questions will be answered over the next five years by the European Research Cluster on EMF and Health (CLUE-H), which was officially launched on 22th September 2022, with a kick-off meeting in Thessaloniki, Greece.

The CLUE-H network involves more than 70 European research organisations in four research consortia (ETAIN, GOLIAT, NextGEM, SEAWave), with additional contribution from scientists in the USA, Korea and Japan. The total funding will amount to more than €29 million from the Horizon Europe 2021-2027.

The results are expected to fill the knowledge gaps that exist regarding the impact of wireless technologies on health and the environment. They will be essential in ensuring a safe deployment and use of future wireless networks which will benefit citizens and society, for example in health, transport, e-government and smart cities.

The Projects

ETAIN is a 5-year project that aims at developing and validating approaches to assess impact of existing and novel technologies from a planetary health perspective. Simultaneously, ETAIN will explore options for exposure reduction, and interact with the public and stakeholders about exposure levels and possible associated risks. ETAIN is coordinated by Utrecht University, the Netherlands.

 

GOLIAT will monitor exposure to 5G and other sources of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields in order to study its potential effects on human health. In parallel, the project will assess how exposure to EMF and their possible risks are perceived by citizens. GOLIAT is coordinated by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by  ”la Caixa” Foundation. 

 

NextGEM will ensure EU citizens’ healthy living and a safer working environment when employing existing and future EMF-based telecommunication technologies. This will be accomplished by generating relevant knowledge that identifies appropriate control measures of EMF exposure in the residential, public, and occupational settings, trustable by people and in line with the regulations and laws issued by the public authorities. NextGEM is coordinated by the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), Greece.

 

SEAWave will quantify the differences in exposure between 2G-4G and 5G networks for the entire population, including children and workers. The project will also generate important data for assessing the health risk from exposure to the high frequency bands (5G FR2), especially with regards to the potential for skin carcinogenicity. SEAWave is coordinated by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.

CNR involved in two EMF Health related activities

We are excited to announce that the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), a consortium member of NextGEM is part of two actions/documents that contribute to the field of EMF health:

1) PUBLIC CONSULTATION LAUNCHED BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION ON THE PRELIMINARY OPINION RELEASED BY THE “Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER)” on the need of a revision of the annexes in the Council Recommendation 1999/519/EC and Directive 2013/35/EU, in view of the latest scientific evidence available with regard to radiofrequency. Interested stakeholders are invited to submit their comments on the scientific evidence online until 25 September 2022:  https://health.ec.europa.eu/consultations/scheer-public-consultation-preliminary-opinion-scientific-evidence-radiofrequency_en

2) THE ANNUAL REPORTS ON ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS RELEASED BY THE SWEDISH RADIATION SAFETY AUTHORITY https://www.stralsakerhetsmyndigheten.se/en/publications/?q=electromagnetic+

Launch of the European project NextGEM

The 48-month EU-funded NextGEM project, which was launched on the 1st of July 2022, will ensure EU citizens’ healthy living and a safe working environment when employing existing and future EMF-based telecommunication technologies

 

NextGEM project partners during the Kick-off meeting at Heraklion-Crete in July 2022

NextGEM project held its kick-off meeting on 19-21 of July 2022, at the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH) premises in Heraklion, Crete, Greece. NextGEM is a 48-month Horizon Europe project officially launched on 1st July 2022 with a total budget of 7.56 M€ funded under the “Exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) and health” call.

NextGEM vision

The NextGEM vision is to ensure EU citizens’ healthy living and a safer working environment when employing existing and future Electromagnenic Field (EMF)-based telecommunication technologies. This will be accomplished by generating relevant knowledge that identifies appropriate control measures of EMF exposure in the residential, public, and occupational settings, trustable by people and in line with the regulations and laws issued by the public authorities. For that, NextGEM will provide a framework for generating health-relevant scientific knowledge and data on new scenarios of exposure to EMF in multiple frequency bands. The project also aims to develop and validate tools for evidence-based risk assessment. NextGEM will also create the NextGEM Innovation and Knowledge Hub (NIKH) for EMF and Health, offering a standardised way for European regulatory authorities and the scientific community to store and assess project outcomes and insights into how EMF exposures affect health.

Three case studies are planned to demonstrate and validate NextGEM’s results on different groups of geographical and socio-economic conditions. The first one will investigate the potential effects of indoor levels of radiofrequency exposure of vulnerable people on reproduction and development. The second will focus on optimised outdoor urban planning and 5G design architecture and investigations for public awareness of cancer-related health hazards. Finally, the third will focus on the potential health effects of mmWave EMF exposure in indoor and outdoor environments.

NextGEM Consortium

The Institute of Computer Science of FORTH (ICS-FORTH) is the coordinator of the NextGEM project, and the consortium consists of 20 organisations based in 10 different countries (Greece, Italy, Spain, Cyprus Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and Israel).

Among the 20 organisations, there are 4 Research Institutions (FORTH, Italian National Research Council – CNR, Spanish National Research Council – CSIC and International Centre for Numerical Methods in Engineering – CIMNE), 6 Universities (University of Cassino, Hague University of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, and University of Zurich), 5 Public and Government organisations (Italian National Institute of Health – ISS, Belgium Institute for Health – Sciensano, Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment – RIVM, Spanish Ministry of Health, and Dutch Radio Communications Agency), 3 Small and Medium Enterprises (eBOS Technologies, SciProof International and Sphynx Analytic Limited) and 2 Industrial partners (Intracom Telecom and Telecom Italia).

Each partner brings unique expertise, essential for the implementation of the project; including measurements and modelling of the EMF sources, investigation of potential health effects by experimental and human studies, investigating possible causal links between EMF exposure level and duration on potential health effects and performing risk assessment, and development of an innovation and knowledge hub to be used by scientists, authorities, and for citizens’ awareness.

EMF and Health Cluster

NextGEM project along with the three other Horizon Europe projects selected for funding from the call HORIZON- HLTH-2021-ENVHLTH-02-01 Exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) and health (SEAWave, ETAIN, GOLIAT) will form the EMF and Health Cluster to optimise synergies, avoid overlaps and increase the impact of the projects.

More Information and Contact

The project will include a communication and dissemination programme full of activities to maximise the impact of the results generated and increase general awareness on the subject, and a website and social media available to the general public to be updated with the project outcomes. Website: nextgem.eu Twitter: @NextGEM_eu Linkedin: nextgem-project/

Dr. Nikolaos Petroulakis, Project Coordinator, ICS-FORTH,  email: npetro@ics.forth.gr