Microplastics: From Environmental Impact to Policy, Innovation, and Public Awareness
WHO IS THE COURSE FOR
Bachelor and Master's students, Ph.D. candidates, and junior professionals from all walks of life who are interested in environmental issues.
Why Participate?
- Learn from top experts and organizations, including UNEP, FOEN, and IUCN.
- Engage in dynamic learning formats, from lectures and flipped classes to interactive World Café sessions and a hands-on field trip to Geneva Lake.
- Develop and enhance your practical problem-solving skills by tackling real-world challenges in collaboration with professionals.
- Collaborate in diverse teams and apply your knowledge and skills to water resource management.
Key Topics:
- Microplastics in the environment: sources, impacts, and human exposure.
- Detection methods and analytical approaches.
- Policy frameworks and regulatory challenges.
- Industry innovations and solutions.
- Public engagement and raising awareness.
What You’ll Gain:
- Deepen your understanding of microplastics and their global impact.
- Cultivate teamwork and communication skills through collaborative projects.
- Earn a Certificate of Attendance and, upon request, a transcript with ECTS credit equivalency.
Course evaluation: Students will be asked to complete approximately 15 hours of reading before the course begins. Assessment is based on participation and a group presentation.
Junior Professionals: CHF 1,100
External students (*): CHF 900
UNIGE students (*): CHF 250
(*) Bachelor and master’s degree-seeking students and Ph.D. candidates only. The tuition fees for lifelong learning students are subject to employment status.
Scholarships
4EU+* members only.
12 full scholarships covering course fees, transportation, and allowances.
*Charles University in Prague, Heidelberg University, Paris-Panthéon-Assas University, Sorbonne University in Paris, the University of Copenhagen, the University of Geneva, the University of Milan, and the University of Warsaw
Course Director:
Professor Vera Slaveykova
Prof. Vera Slaveykova is an environmental chemist with more than 25 years of experience and a full professor in Environmental Biogeochemistry and Ecotoxicology at the Department F.-A. Forel for Environmental and Aquatic Sciences and the Institute for Environmental Sciences at the University of Geneva. Over the past 12 years, she has served as the Director of the Department F.-A. Forel for Environmental and Aquatic Sciences, Vice-President, and President of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Geneva. Currently, she is a member of the National Research Council of the Swiss National Science Foundation and represents the University of Geneva in the UNEP Global Mercury Partnership. She also serves as Specialty Chief Editor for Biogeochemical Dynamics in Frontiers in Environmental Science.
