ETpathfinder Smart Skills Lab shares Einstein Telescope knowledge with businesses
Research into the Einstein Telescope is generating valuable technological expertise. While this presents major opportunities for industry, much of the knowledge fails to reach businesses effectively. The new ETpathfinder Smart Skills Lab in Maastricht aims to change that. Over the coming years, it will develop training modules to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) upskill their workforce.
The Einstein Telescope is a cutting-edge research facility under development, designed to detect gravitational waves with unprecedented precision. The project brings together a wide range of key enabling technologies, including photonics, cryogenics, ultra-high vacuum systems, and data analysis. These technologies are not only essential to science but also increasingly relevant to sectors such as high-tech manufacturing, construction, installation engineering, and logistics. Yet businesses in these areas often struggle to access the latest technological know-how. The Smart Skills Lab seeks to close that gap by developing training programmes.
Perfect place
“We are developing the training programmes in stages,” explains project leader Professor Stefan Hild from Maastricht University. “From simple instructional videos and interactive online tools to hands-on workshops in our laboratories and cleanroom.” ETpathfinder, where many of the technologies for the Einstein Telescope are developed and tested, also serves as a practical learning environment.
During the first year, eleven postdoctoral technology experts will familiarise themselves with the techniques used in ETpathfinder. In the second year, and together with vocational and higher professional education, they will translate this expertise into accessible and practical training content. “We’re starting with a variety of technical domains,” Hild continues. “This will result in dozens of training options, allowing companies to tailor their learning packages to specific needs.”
Usable knowledge
A digital learning platform will make the materials widely accessible. Businesses can engage with the content independently or with guidance. Innovation workshops, site visits, and applied training sessions will ensure that knowledge transfer is not just theoretical but immediately usable. In this way, SMEs gain access to advanced technologies previously reserved for research institutions.
The project also addresses the growing shortage of technically skilled professionals. By linking hands-on education to real-world innovation, the Smart Skills Lab contributes to a more resilient and future-proof labour market. The knowledge developed within ETpathfinder will remain valuable, regardless of where the Einstein Telescope is eventually built.
University of Antwerp
As one of the founding partners of ETpathfinder, the University of Antwerp plays an important role in the project. A technology expert will use the expertise available in ETpathfinder and UAntwerp to gain knowledge in the field of seismic vibration damping, including the development of improved position sensors, actuators, signal processing and control algorithms, to then transfer this knowledge to SMEs. Through ETpathfinder, the Interreg Beampipes4ET project, and now also the new Smart Skills Lab, the University of Antwerp shows how academic knowledge can directly contribute to innovation, education and economic strengthening in the region.
The ETpathfinder Smart Skills Lab receives over €2 million in funding from the European Interreg programme, which promotes cross-border cooperation. The consortium partners are contributing a matching amount. Thanks to this support, regional businesses can rapidly benefit from the technological spin-off of fundamental scientific research, transforming our curiosity about the universe into tangible innovation and economic progress here on Earth.