The Joint EARLINET General Assembly and EARLICOST Working Group & Management Committee Meeting took place from 8 to 11 September 2026, hosted in hybrid format at the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), Penteli, Greece. Over four days, the meeting combined plenary sessions, working group splinter discussions, an industry engagement day, and the annual Management Committee meeting, bringing together the wider EARLINET and EARLICOST research communities. George Kotsias, ITC Grant Coordinator for EARLICOST and ATARRI project member at CARO/Eratosthenes Centre of Excellence, participated on-site throughout the meeting, representing ATARRI’s continued engagement with the Action.
As part of the Management Committee session on 11 September, George delivered the ITC (Inclusiveness Target Countries) grant summary and outlook for Year 2. He presented the results of the Action’s first ITC Conference Grant call and outlined three priorities for Year 2: broadening geographic reach by identifying underrepresented ITC/NNC countries and engaging MC/WG members as ambassadors, providing deadline-driven application support ahead of conference abstract deadlines, and tracking measurable impact by monitoring how grantees’ contacts progress into collaborations and joint projects.
The Management Committee also reviewed Year 1 challenges and lessons learned, approving several process improvements including a simplified grant-report approval procedure and earlier invitation timelines for meetings. The next EARLICOST MC & WG meeting and training school were voted to take place in La Réunion, France, on 2–5 September 2027, aligned with the European Lidar Conference (ELC) 2027.
As part of the meeting programme, ATARRI PhD students Athina Savva and Maria Poutli also presented online the activities supported through their EARLICOST grants. Athina Savva presented her participation in the 32nd International Laser Radar Conference (ILRC32) in Hiroshima, Japan, where she presented her research on the impact of the volume depolarization ratio on GRASP aerosol retrievals. Maria Poutli presented both her participation in ILRC32 in Hiroshima, Japan, and her Short-Term Scientific Mission (STSM) at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, highlighting the research activities and outcomes supported through the EARLICOST funding. These presentations showcased the scientific activities enabled by the grants and their contribution to the professional development, networking, and research collaborations of the participating ATARRI PhD students.