The SURE 2022 school was held between 11 and 15 July at the ICMAB Seminar Hall and was in-person only.
The school gathered around 25 students from around the world (Belgium, Italy, Nigeria, Spain, Geramany, Ireland, UK, China...) and counted with 13 Invited Lectures, a visit to the ALBA Synchrotron and a student project presentation on Circular Economy and Business Model on sustainable materials on renewable energy applications.
The school counted with a variety of talks on different topics around the field of sustainability:
- Sustainable materials by Olli Ikkala, from Aalto University in Finland
- Renewable energy and photovoltaics, by Brain Norton, from Dublin TU and UC Cork, in Ireland
- From research to market, by Neus Sabaté, from IMB-CNM-CSIC
- Entrepreneurial activity and circular economy game, with Tiina Nypelö, from Chalmers University in Sweden, and Montse Solà and M. José Capell, from SECOT Barcelona
- Electrical power systems, by Lothar Henr Fickert, from the University of Technology Gräz in Austria
- Decarbonization technologies, by F. Pelayo García e Arquer, from ICFO
- Lignocellulose in batteries, with Stefan Sprik, from University of Technology Gräz in Austria
- Post-Li batteries, with Montserrat Casas, from cic energiGUNE
- Permanent magnets recycling, by Kristina Zuzek, from Jozef Stefan Institute, in Slovenia
- Solid-state energy harvesting, by Miguel Muñoz, from IMN-CSIC and University of Twente
- Sustainable energy access in Sub-Saharian Africa, from Magda Moner-Girona, from EU Commission and JRC in Italy
"I think the talks were very varied, covering many different topics. The level of the speakers and the talks was very good" says one of the participants.
"It has given me many ideas and now I have a panoramic perspective about what I would like to do during my carrer as a researcher" says another participant.
The fact that the school was only in-person and that on the first day a Speed Science Dating Networking activity was organized, favoured that the students could know each other better. Also, the students had to do a student project together and present it on the last day, so they had to interact and participate. Also, many of the lecturers were present during two or more days, so the students had the possibility to interact with them.
"This meeting brought me into contact with friends in the same field from all over the world. I felt their love and passion for their field of study. I am also inspired. I recognize the excellence of my colleagues, so after returning to the UK, I am determined to work harder to improve my professional knowledge, and hope to meet them again in other academic activities. Another thing that has had a profound impact on me is the concept of the combination of industry and academia. Sustainability of energy and materials needs to be considered at the laboratory stage. As the first generation of lithium metal energy storage equipment reaches the end of its life, attention should be paid to the disposal technology of used batteries, and circular economy is the general trend."
On Wednesday afternoon, the students could visit the ALBA Synchrotron, which offered us a complete guide around their installation. Thank you for the visit!
On the last day, the students had to present their sustainable projects in 20 minutes in front of a jury, and answer some questions on the topic. Although the students may not have much time to prepare the project, they put a lot of effort on it, and presented some very nice projects. The two best projects had some awards sponsored by the school sponsors: the journal nanomaterials, and the company TAB Batteries.
"The curriculum is very well designed and compact, both informative and challenging in a short period of time" says one of the participants.
From ICMAB we would like to thank all the speakers, participants, both associations EPNOE and ESEIA, the two sponsors, the journal nanomaterials and the comapny TAB Batteries, and all the people involved in the school to make it possible! Thank you!
