March 24th, 2023
The First School of the SupraLife Project entitled “Functional Supramolecular Polymeric Biomaterials“ took place at the Auditorium Renato Araújo, within the Central and Rectorate Building at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, from 19-24 March 2023.
This event included a very strong scientific program which counted on the active participation of world-renowned scientists from 8 different European countries which met in Aveiro and delivered plenary lectures covering the topics of functional supramolecular polymers, bioinspired polymers, biomimetic strategies, molecular modelling and molecular dynamics simulations, bioinstructive platforms/matrices, dynamic self-assembled biomaterials, supramolecular hydrogels, adaptive life-like molecular systems, and their use in drug/therapeutics delivery, diagnostics, tissue engineering or regenerative medicine. The scientific program also included 3 poster sessions mostly devoted to students and early-career researchers which allowed them to present and discuss their work with peers, as well as interact closely and exchange ideas with the plenary speakers in an informal environment.
It was a privilege to host, learn from and engage with such distinguished scientists at the frontiers of supramolecular and biomaterials chemistry, who inspired the young scientists and researchers to pursue frontier research in the supramolecular biomaterials’ chemistry field.
Moreover, the First School also hosted a soft transferable skills training program, which aimed to advance the professional development and widen the career perspectives of students and early-career researchers, irrespectively on their academic background and research domain. The training program consisted of 4 distinct workshops on the topics of grant writing, career development, science communication, and scientific writing and publishing and 12 invited speakers, experts and highly skilled professionals on the topics, who provided the students and researchers with the skills to thrive in their professional duties and career paths.
This was the very first event of the SUPRALIFE EU funded Twinning project, which started on January 1st, 2023 and is coordinated by the University of Aveiro (UAVR, Portugal) with the Eindhoven University of Technology (The Netherlands), and the University of Bordeaux, Polytechnic Institute of Bordeaux (Bordeaux INP, France) and French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS, France) as partners.
More info about the First School, SUPRALIFE project and upcoming training activities can be found here:
https://www.supralife.eu/firstschool
