GREENS Training School 3

Glasgow, UK • 14–19 June 2026

The GREENS Marie Skłowdowska Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Network held its third training event in Glasgow, United Kingdom hosted by the University of Strathclyde (UOS) between the 14th and 19th of June 2026. There were a number of technical talks on the theme: Sustainability for Nanorobots - Nanorobots for Sustainability. This was further supplemented by the Scottish Open Soft Matter Meeting (SSMM 2026), co-organised by different universities in Scotland and where different doctoral networks from the UK were also involved, which took place on the 18th of June 2026. In additional, there were soft skills training, a walk and talk task performed in groups of two for reflection on how their research lines were related to sustainability and how they could later be disseminated on social media. Finally, there were two networking activities, a treasure-hunt event to discover the city of Glasgow in small teams and a magic session to discover how to trigger interest and communicate our science better.

Technical Talks

Prof. Lesley Henderson — Microplastics and the media: Science, publics and policy in the digital age
Victor Oliva — Sustainable polymers for eco-responsible packaging
Prof. John Liggat — Global LCA analysis: from raw materials to application
Akhila Rahul — Analytical techniques for identification of microplastics
Prof. Caroline Gauchotte-Lindsay — Microplastic pollution in wastewater
Dr. Alba Bala — Introduction to the LCA framework and methodology applied to nanorobotics
Dr. Rafael Mestre — Ethics and RRI in robotics: today and tomorrow
Prof. Josep Puigmartí Luis — Towards sustainable manufacturing in small-scale robotics and how microfluidics can play a key role
Dr. Tobias Walser — Sustainability at the nanoscale: applying LCA on nanomaterials
Dr. Tak Chan — LEAF scheme - sustainability in laboratories
Dr. Simona Aracri — Achieving Sustainable Development Goals through the use of Robotics and Autonomous Systems
Dr. Margarita Poderyte — Repurposing polyethylene terephthalate plastic waste to capture carbon dioxide
Dr. Angela Flack — Raman Microscopy for Microplastics & Micro-Scale Characterization
Ilayda Tolu — Computational design and optimization of artificial metalloenzymes

Day 1

Our first talk was by Prof. Lesley Henderson and focused on microplastics and the media, covering how it’s treated in science, publics and policy in the digital age.

Our second talk was Sustainable polymers for eco-responsible packaging by Victor Oliva, the PI of MOVIC in GREENS, followed by the talk Global LCA analysis: from raw materials to application, given by Prof. John Liggat. Also, we had a wonderful talk by Akhila Rahul on Analytical techniques for identification of microplastics.

In the afternoon, the DCs got to discover the city of Glasgow through a treasure hunt activity focused on science, with the corresponding winners getting some sweet treats.

Day 2

On the second day, we had the talk: Microplastic pollution in wastewater by our invited speaker Prof. Caroline Gauchotte-Lindsay.

Later, our invited speaker Dr. Margarita Poderyte gave a talk about Repurposing polyethylene terephthalate plastic waste to capture carbon dioxide, giving a broad overview in the field.

In the afternoon, Dr. Alba Bala, partner in GREENS from the UNESCO Chair in Life Cycle and Climate Change – UPF, gave a presentation on Introduction to the LCA framework and methodology applied to nanorobotics.

Day 3

On Wednesday, we started the day with the Ethics and RRI in robotics: today and tomorrow talk by our invited speaker Dr. Rafael Mestre, who is also part of the advisory board of GREENS.

After getting a general introduction into the topic and the overview of some key examples, the students were divided into groups to study the ethical implications and RRI in their research lines with the supervision of Dr. Mestre and the guidance provided by the RRI Prompt and Practice card from the Horizon Digital Economy Research Institute at the University of Nottingham, and they provided a discussion of their conclusions.

Next, we had an interesting talk hold by the invited speaker Angela Flack from Matthew Berry Edi Instruments on Raman Microscopy for Microplastics & Micro-Scale Characterization.

Afterwards, we headed to the walk and talk event around the countryside as participants discussed technical topics while getting to know interesting areas in Glasgow.

Day 4

On Thursday we had the Scottish Open Soft Matter Meeting (SSMM 2026), which was an open event where the GREENS DCs had the opportunity to participate during the training school. There were lectures by invited guest speakers, such as Oliver Henrich, Filipe Vilela, Sian Sloan Denison, Aimee Bebbington, Matthew Buttler, Matteo Taffetani. The first talk of the afternoon was presented by Ilayda Tolu, a PhD student at the, METRAZYME MSCA, focused on the Computational design and optimization of artificial metalloenzymes.

In the afternoon, GREENS participants had the opportunity to meet with two other MSCA Doctoral Networks in the UK. They were presented with an overview, partners involved, and the potential common research lines with the MSCA Doctoral Network ELECTRIFY-IT presented by Prof. Joshua Barham from the University of Strathclyde and the MSCA Doctoral Network MIPrecise presented by Prof. Peter Cormack from the University of Strathclyde. Since these MSCA DN projects started much earlier than GREENS, hence, these presentations offered a wider perspective to the GREENS DCs for the outcome of their own project.

In the afternoon, three students from GREENS were selected to give a flash talk to the MSCA session between the three MSCA Doctoral Networks.

Finally, there was a poster session with all the students involved in the three Doctoral Networks. For our GREENS DCs, this was the first time many of them prepared and defended a poster, and it was an enriching experience where they were able to practice and see the challenges of preparing and defending a poster in an academic environment.

Day 5

On the final day, Prof. Josep Puigmartí Luis from the University of Barcelona gave a talk on Towards sustainable manufacturing in small-scale robotics and how microfluidics can play a key role, he also provided an overview of the different platforms and technologies from his partner institution in GREENS.

Afterwards, Prof. Tak Chan gave a talk about Sustainable Labs Initiative in Strathclyde at the LEAF scheme, giving an overview about the different actions taken at the university level.

At the end of the morning session, Dr. Tobias Walser provided a very interesting talk about Sustainability at the nanoscale: applying LCA on nanomaterials.

In the afternoon, we had a talk by Dr. Simona Aracri on Achieving Sustainable Development Goals through the use of Robotics and Autonomous Systems, discovering how robotics play a key role in monitoring marine systems.

To wrap up our training event in the University of Strathclyde, there was magic session by Dr. Bill MacDonald. He gave a very insightful session about some magic tricks and how to use them to communicate science, and particularly chemistry.

Closing Dinner

Afterwards, participants took part in the closing dinner, to celebrate a successful week of events.

Appreciation

We would like to give special thanks to:

Our hosts, Prof. Juliane Simmchen and all other UOS staff that were involved in the hosting and organization of the training school events.
The GREENS coordinator, Dr. Maria Guix Noguera; technical manager, Dr. Carlos Franco Pujante; training manager, Prof. Péter László; and project managers, Dr. Babajide Muritala and Dr. Beltzane Garcia Cirera, for their contributions to the organization of the training school events.
All the speakers that delivered the technical talks.
All the DCs and PIs who joined us in Glasgow.

Download the programme for the training school.

View Programme (PDF)