News

© Rizwan Khaleel

The PhD students of the CRC 1357 Microplastics held this year’s PhD symposium in Leipzig and Dresden. As part of the programme, a scientific workshop took place with the ‘Plastic Competence Cluster’ of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig. Current research projects were presented and discussed, including progress on the database for the SFB synthesis project.
Another item on the programme was a tour of the ‘Exposure Science Lab’ and the ‘Ecotoxicology Lab’ at the UFZ, which provided valuable insights into current research approaches and methods. In addition, the group visited ESTER Biotech GmbH and took part in a workshop on ‘Science Communication and Gender’.
The symposium concluded with a visit to Dresden. The programme there included specialist scientific presentations as well as visits to the laboratories of the Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research Dresden and the Dresden University of Applied Sciences. The participants gained a wide range of insights into current research activities and took the opportunity to exchange expertise and network.
Overall, the symposium offered a successful combination of scientific dialogue, interdisciplinary knowledge transfer and personal networking, thereby contributing to the further strengthening of collaboration within the field of microplastics research. 
(Thanks to Everton Souza da Silva for the text.)

CRC 1357 Microplastics PhD Group Picture