On May 8, 2025, the HARPOCRATES consortium held its final plenary meeting on the island of Paxos, Greece. This marked the last physical gathering of partners within the scope of the project, dedicated to finalizing outstanding work, reviewing key outcomes, and aligning on closure activities.
The meeting was hosted and excellently organized by Antonis Michalas (Tampere University), who provided both a productive setting for technical discussions and a welcoming environment for closing this collaborative effort.
Final Agenda Highlights
The full-day meeting brought together technical leads, coordinators, and contributors across all work packages and demonstrations.
Opening Session
-
Antonis Michalas welcomed the participants and opened the meeting.
-
Tamas Kiss presented the goals of the session, focusing on evaluation of final results, deliverables, and knowledge transfer.
Updates from the Industry Focus Group
-
Isabel Praca and Ralf Seepold shared reflections on the impact and uptake of HARPOCRATES results in the industrial context since the last meeting in Pančevo.
Technical Work Package Wrap-Up
Three core technical work packages provided a final overview of their outputs:
-
Operations on Encrypted Data and Differential Privacy
Summarized final developments in privacy-preserving encryption techniques, particularly focusing on Functional Encryption and the integration of Differential Privacy. -
Privacy-Preserving Machine and Federated Learning
Presented the latest outcomes in privacy-preserving machine learning and federated analytics, emphasizing how encrypted data can be used securely for model training and inference. -
Reference Architecture and Platform Integration
Demonstrated the complete HARPOCRATES Framework, outlining the final services, software architecture, and GitHub organization. Clarified which components will remain open source and what will be available under restricted access.
Demonstrator Sessions
Two demonstrators showcased how the developed technologies perform in real-world scenarios:
-
Sleep Medicine Demonstrator
Reported on system performance, data flow handling, and privacy compliance when processing sensitive health data across federated sources. -
Threat Intelligence Demonstrator
Presented the implementation of secure cross-border data sharing for local authorities, highlighting data protection mechanisms and coordination with public sector stakeholders.
These sessions illustrated how HARPOCRATES technologies translate into applied solutions and contributed valuable insights into practical limitations and areas for post-project refinement.
Strategic and Operational Sessions
-
Exploitation and Sustainability
Provided the final plan for sustaining results beyond the project duration, covering consortium-level assets and individual partner strategies. -
Legal and Ethical Compliance
A dedicated session focused on GDPR alignment and ethical review of developed solutions, ensuring that HARPOCRATES outcomes respect privacy and legal standards. -
Project Management and Deliverables
Summarized the remaining deliverables and administrative tasks, preparing for the final reporting. -
KPI Evaluation
Reviewed project KPIs, confirming which were met and where follow-up actions were still needed.
Closing Reflections
The meeting also served as a reminder of what made HARPOCRATES effective — a committed group of partners who consistently worked through complex challenges while maintaining clear communication and trust.
The second day of the gathering was reserved for team-building activities, allowing participants to step away from the formal setting and spend time together in a more relaxed environment. This balance of focused collaboration and informal connection has been central to the way the HARPOCRATES team worked throughout the project.
As the HARPOCRATES project approaches its conclusion, the technologies and frameworks developed will remain relevant for the growing field of privacy-preserving data processing.
Final deliverables and public outputs will be available at:
👉 https://harpocrates-project.eu/deliverables
