LEANNIS can be regarded as a new step toward a better understanding of the strong interaction with strangeness. On the theoretical side, the successful topical Workshops in the field of strong interaction with strangeness will be extended. In Vienna the organization of the International Conferences on exotic atoms and related topics (EXA) will be continued as well as the Workshop projects at ECT*. LEANNIS will help to exploit at best the capabilities of European research facilities like LNF (DAFNE), GSI, and FZ Juelich (COSY), and will also strengthen the opportunities for innovative research at non-European research centers like J-PARC/Japan to facilitate the European participation.

New experiments are requiring new techniques and technologies to increase the sensitivities. LEANNIS is connected also to RTD activities of HadronPhysics3, like the development of Time Projection Chambers (TPC) based on GEM technology (Joint GEM work package) and scintillation counters with novel photo-sensors (Silicon Multiplier work package).

The field of low-energy antikaon nucleon and nuclei interaction gained significant attraction due to progress in theory and experiment. New data on the strong interaction parameters of kaonic hydrogen, measured by the SIDDHARTA experiment, stimulated theory; on the other hand, the case of kaonic deuterium turned out to be much more complicated and preparation for new more sensitive experiments, which are already proposed at LNF, together with an enriched physics program including e.g. X-ray studies of Z>2 kaonic atoms is undergoing. New low energy antikaon-proton scattering experiments are planned at DAFNE using a hydrogen filled GEM TPC for precision data close to threshold.

The main topic of LEANNIS is the continuation of the search for the production mechanism of antikaon bound nuclear systems in different reactions, e.g. with stopped antikaons (planned for AMADEUS at DAFNE), in-flight antikaon reactions (E15 at J-PARC), proton induced reactions at FOPI and HADES at GSI, and antiproton-induced reactions (planned for experiments at AD/CERN, J-PARC and in the future at FAIR-FLAIR). The studies were started in HadronPhysics2 with remarkable success, in experiments like FOPI (dedicated experiment on proton-induced reaction performed in 2009) and were used for the preparation of experiments (AMADEUS, E15). A new stimulus resulted from the analysis of DISTO data showing indications for the existence of antikaon nuclear systems, the analysis of HADES data ( p+p reactions at 3.5GeV) which allowed to study the line shape of the Lambda(1405) and to look for K-pp states. Nevertheless, studies of the production mechanism and properties of these states represent challenging tasks in dedicated experiments and need continuation and funding within the timeline of LEANNIS in HadronPhysics3.

The search for bound states in the antikaon interaction with nuclei has profound consequences for astrophysics as well. Kaon condensation in self-bound nuclear and hypernuclear systems has been studied recently, in analogy with features of kaon condensation in neutron star matter [c.f. J. Mares, Hyp. Interact. 193:215-220]. For related experimental tests, the availability of an intense antiproton source at FAIR provides excellent perspectives for studies of antiproton induced strangeness production and the search for multi-antikaon bound states. In the meantime studies at lower antiproton intensities at J-PARC are proposed and supported by LEANNIS.

In-medium modifications of hadronic properties involving the strange and charm quark, respectively, are extremely interesting. The in-medium modification of phi vector mesons is proposed to be studied at J-PARC, and the optimization of in-medium studies in the upcoming PANDA experiment at FAIR will be pursued.

As in the case of the network in HadronPhysics2, the upgraded LEANNIS HadronPhysics3 will serve as school for the education of young scientists, both in the theoretical and the experimental sector. Special attention is devoted to the dissemination towards the general public of the results and goals.