Last March, the Polytechnic School of the University of Girona (UdG), together with the University of Antwerp (UAntwerp), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven) and Hochschule Merseburg (HoMe), organized the BIP International Week, a program with training sessions for international students on the topic of the emerging field of Circularity of Polymers.
This Blended Intensive Program consisted of three phases, starting with a Virtual Introduction (15th February – 12th March 2022), an International Week in Girona (14th – 19th March 2022), and finally a Virtual follow-up (20th March – 30th April 2022). The BIP was organized in the frame of the Euclides network with the financial support of Erasmus.
During the International Week, the students attended lectures from experts (both industry and academy) in the field of polymer synthesis, mechanical and chemical recycling, eco-design, and sustainability assessment, among others. In addition, they had the opportunity to visit the facilities from the University of Girona dedicated to polymer processing and characterization, as well as a company from the plastic recycling business.
To open the first day of the BIP, the University of Girona invited Dr. Josep Nadal, technical manager at Concentrol, as a keynote speaker. There, he was able to talk about polymers in the chemical industry, about the circularity of the polymers that Concentrol produces, and share existing bio-based alternatives to plastic polymers. He also took the opportunity to briefly introduce the company and its efforts to reduce environmental impact to international students.
