Objective of the METROPOL project is to make key advances in the development of innovative optical solutions, enabling novel research pathways towards co-existence of separated fiber-based systems and forming chip-integrated photonic platform for advanced digital networking and data-intensive communications by leveraging a combination of fiber optics, integrated semiconductor materials, and artificial intelligence technologies. Creating a multi-purpose optical platform is expected to be an important step to implement key digital technologies for society, industry, and economy, including surging areas impacting daily life such as cyber security, quantum communications and networks, sensors, and high-performing computing serves and clouds, or energy-wise data centers.