N. 1 (MAY 2018) AQUALITY NEWSLETTER

ProjectsummaryAQUAlity is amultidisciplinary and interdisciplinary aswell as cross – sectoral European TrainingNetworkaimingtogenerateandpromote15highlyskilledscientistsinthe>ieldoftheremovalofpollutantspresentinverysmallamountinaqueoussystems.

In order to develop innovative puri>ication technologies expected to be moreeffectivethanconventionaladsorptionandbiologicaltreatments,AQUAlityenrolled15 Early–Stage Researchers (ESRs) to conduct cutting–edge research onmultidisciplinary aspects of novel hybrid technologies for the removalof Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs), which comprehend compoundspresent in very small amount in aqueous systems, having the potential to causeadverseecologicalorhumanhealtheffects.

The 15 ESRs will be trained to develop their creativity, critical and autonomousthinking, and entrepreneurial skills, thus boosting their scienti>ic skills andinnovation capacity in the >ield ofwater treatment technologies. This goalwill beattained via a structured training – through – research programme, consisting oforiginal individual research projects (performed both at the bene>iciaryorganisation and through intersectorial secondments) and education on technicaland transferable skills (performed both atlocallevelandwithnetwork–wideevents).

Each research project addresses a speci>icissue tailored towardsaPhD,andeachhasbeenpeer–reviewedby thenetworkforscienti>icrigorandfeasibilityasaPhDproject.

Kick-offmeetingOn25thOctober2017,thecoordinator-Prof.PaolaCalza-welcomedtheparticipantsandof>iciallylaunchedthestartofAQUAlityproject.Thenthe>irstsessionwasdevotedtothepresentationofPartners&Bene>iciaries,whereasinthesecondsessionWPsobjectives,tasks,deliverablesandmilestonestosubmitduringthe>irstyearoftheprojectwerelistedandthemanagerstructureoftheprojectwasde>ined.Successively,eachWPleaderpresented the activities to be carried out and the planning of themain training events& conferences to beorganizedinthenexttwoyearsoftheprojectwasdiscussed.

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PROJECT, PARTNERS &

BENEFICIARIES

WORKSHOP ON PHD SUPERVISION &

KICK-OFF MEETING

FIRST AQUALITY SYMPOSIUM & SUMMER

SCHOOL

NEXT EVENTS &

ACTIVITIES

AQUAlity  is a consortium of eighteen partners. The consortium comprises 7 universities, 3 research institutes and 8 companies with a balanced participation of beneficiaries and partner organizations, academic and non-academic.

NEWSLETTER

AQUAlity  is a project funded by the European Union under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) –  Innovative Training Networks (Call : H2020-MSCA-ITN-2017) . Project N. 765860

N. 1 (MAY 2018) AQUALITY NEWSLETTER

WorkshoponPhDsupervisionThe kick-of meeting was preceded by a Course held by  Dr. Pia Bøgelund,  from the Aalborg UNESCO Centre for Problem Based Learning in Engineering Science and Sustainability. During the two-days course (October 23-24, 2017) the following themes were developed by the participants:   • Values and strategies as supervisor. Cross-cultural supervision • Legitimacy and independence of the PhD students • Motivation and abandonment of the PhD student. Effective meetings

and text feedback • Different approaches to conflicts

FirstAQUAlitysymposiumThe symposium was opened by Prof. P. Calza, who welcomed the newenrolledESRsandupdatedtheparticipantsabouttheproblemsrelativetothemanagementoftheproject,nextdeliverables,milestonesand>inancialrules. In the second session, Dr. I. Oller gave full details about the ESRsrecruitmentstatusandthetrainingeventstobeplanned.Thethirdsessionof themeetingwasdedicated tobriefpresentationsof theESRs’projectsand Prof. P. Calza presented the CV of the ESRswho did not partake theevent.Afterlunch,parallelsectionswereorganizedtoletparticipantsplanthe research activities to be carried out. A >inal common section fordiscussingWP2,WP3andWP4plannedactivitiesendedtheday.

TheseconddaywasopenedbyProf.E.Robotti,whogaveanoverviewontheplannedsecondments,researchandtrainingplans.Thesecondsessionwas chaired by Dr. E. Sannino who gave a presentation on thedisseminationandoutreachactivitiesoftheproject.Thesecondpartofthemorning was dedicated to parallel sessions: the meeting of the JointGoverningStructuredelegates, theelectionof theESRsrepresentatives inthe Supervisory Board, and the Supervisory Board meeting. TheSymposiumendswitha >inalcommonsection forplanning thenextprojectmeetings:2ndAQUAlitymeetingandSummerSchool(Aalborg,August2018)and3rdAQUAlitymeeting(Paris,March2019).

SummerschoolonPhotochemistryandDepollutionThe School held from 25th to 27th April 2018 in the premises of the University Clermont-Auvergne atClermont-Ferrand (France). Itwasorganizedby thePhotochemistry teamofChemical InstituteofClermont-Ferrand(ICCF)underthesupervisionofClaireRichard.Thiseventaimedtoupdaterecentadvancesinthe>ieldof photochemistry applied to micropollutants removal. The >irst day was devoted to fundamentalphotochemistry. It started by the lecture of Dr. Maria Luisa Marin, followed by two presentations oncontaminantsphoto-transformationandonquantumcalculationsasa tool tostudyphotochemical reactions.TheseconddaydealedwiththeroleofnaturalorganicmatterinthefateofmicropollutantswiththelectureofProf.GudrunAbbt-Braunonnaturalorganiccharacterization,andpresentationsontheirphotochemistryanda

review on analytical methods. The working dayendedbyavisitof the ICCF laboratory. The thirdday focussed on the role of Fe species in theenvironment and advanced oxidation processeswith presentations on the photochemistry of ironcomplexesandthelectureofPrAlessandraBiancoPrevot on the case of Hybrid magnetic ironoxides.All themembersof the ICCF teamensuredthe success of this event by their involvement inthescienti>icprogramorintheorganization.

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NEXT EVENTS & ACTIVITIES

Venue: Aalborg University, CREATE Building, Rendsburggade 14, 9000 Aalborg (Denmark)

Registration: The number of participants is limited to 30. You can register by sending an e-mail to vb@bio.aau.dk

More information on the Website: https://www.aquality-etn.eu/international-summer-school-on-micropollutant-analysis-and-abatement/

International Summer School on “Micropollutant Analysis and

Abatement” Aalborg, 27-29 August 2018

& Second AQUAlity symposium Aalborg, 30-31 August 2018

Website: www.aquality-etn.eu Facebook: www.facebook.com/AQUAlityITN2017INFORMATION & NEWS: