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

In the abstract, an incorrect version of the abstract was published. The abstract as published reads:

“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.”

This has been corrected to read:

“Advanced materials, including nanomaterials, are increasingly recognized as strategic enablers of Europe’s green and digital transitions. At the same time, Safe and Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) has emerged as a key framework for integrating safety, sustainability, and functionality throughout the innovation life cycle. However, the implementation of SSbD remains constrained by fragmented expertise, discipline-specific training pathways, and limited opportunities for coordinated capacity-building. In this Perspective, we argue that achieving the objectives of SSbD will require a new generation of professionals equipped with interdisciplinary competencies spanning technical, sustainability, ethical, and governance dimensions. Drawing on recent literature, emerging European training initiatives, and stakeholder-informed perspectives, we identify key competency needs and discuss remaining challenges for workforce development in nano- and advanced materials. Building on these insights, we propose key elements of a Pan-European training partnership and present a conceptual training ecosystem linking competency development with system-level enablers and implementation outcomes. We argue that coordinated, modular, multilingual, and adaptable sector-sensitive training approaches can help bridge current competency gaps, accelerate the operationalization of SSbD, and support broader European objectives related to sustainability, industrial competitiveness, and innovation.”

The original version of this article has been updated.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Footnotes

Approved by: Frontiers Editorial Office, Frontiers Media SA, Switzerland