Making Global Green Connections: The Importance of Green Chemistry Summer School for Sustainable Development

Fábio G. Delolo (Brazil)

More than developing and promoting the concepts of green chemistry, the 14th GCPSS was a way to connect people who are concerned about the future. These connections can amplify and catalyze the green transformation that our society needs. There is nothing nobler than global problems to be solved through collaboration. But in addition to collaborators, during the event, it was possible to build not only work-related collaborations but also friendships connected for a purpose. Together it seems that the challenges can be overcome and a long-awaited sustainable development can be reached.

Giovana Mazzi (Italy)

I didn’t know what to expect, I had never participated before in something similar. I was a bit anxious but thoroughly curious. Day by day the brilliant lectures opened my eyes to the incredible and limitless applications of green chemistry. But what I felt the most was a growing connection with students from various places, and diverse realities, all gathered there for seeking new knowledge on green chemistry. I felt their pride and satisfaction while presenting their research to other young chemists, feelings that I experienced too for the first time during this 14th GCPSS. Sharing cultures, traditions, ideas, and hopes, tightened this international network and led to an amazing week. The 14th GCPSS gave me the immense opportunity to dive into an international scientific environment and to grow, as a young green chemist, as a student, and as a person.

María Luz Tibaldi Bollati and Fabrizio Politano (Argentina)

Our continent, South America, benefits from rich natural resources, a big agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. In underdeveloped countries, industrial development is crucial for our progress. We believe that the development of new chemical procedures provides an effective way of using basic science to address several issues in a profitable manner; but we are convinced that the only way to reach those goals has to be linked with sustainable, environmentally friendly ideas. The development of green chemistry in Latin America is strongly engaged with education. The new generations of scientists need to be trained in methodologies, techniques, and principles that are aligned with green organic synthesis. Our participation in the 14th GCPSS allowed us to improve our expertise toward a green chemistry philosophy and expanded our research network, giving us the chance to discuss potential international collaborations. We could present our research in front of professors and students from all continents, being a golden opportunity for our professional development. The scholarships for less advantaged countries offered by the Organizing Committee and Sponsors, granted our participation in Venice, otherwise impossible, due to the travel cost from such a remote region. We bring home a lot of new experiences, friends and knowledge, and we are convinced that we will contribute as ‘green chemistry ambassadors’ in our countries to encourage more students to participate in such a wonderful event in the incoming years.

Beatriz Chícharo (Portugal)

I strongly and heartedly believe that the week of the 14th GCPSS in Venice changed my perspectives for the future. As a newly graduated Master of Bioorganic Chemistry, I jumped at the opportunity to attend an event of this dimension that allowed me to learn from pioneers of green chemistry and to share the work I have been doing for the past 7 months. Not only did the summer school enable me to gain a greener mindset for future work but also increased my network of contacts within our field. I’m firmly convinced that this type of event is imperative to educate young green chemists and prepare them for the inevitable battle they will have to fight for a greener future.

Gizelle Roque van Niekerk (South Africa)

As a 1st-year MSc student from the developing country of South Africa, I am grateful to Pietro Tundo for seeing potential in me as a young scientist by selecting me to attend the in-person event on scholarship. The 14th Green Chemistry Summer School was a life-changing experience and instrumental to my future career as a chemist. It was an honor to present my research at such a prestigious international summer school. The opportunity reinforced my belief that green chemistry solutions are a fundamental course of action for sustainable development in the Global South. It was a privilege to engage with postgraduate students from a broad spectrum of countries and I found the talks given by highly influential scientists very inspiring. Networking with people who share the same common goal encouraged me to fervently continue my pursuits in the ground-taking field of green chemistry.

Seyyed Emad Hooshmand (Iran)

It was a second-to-none opportunity to share my research concerning multi-component reactions at the 14th GCPSS in Venice, Italy. Featuring 161 attendees from 45 countries worldwide, this was a tremendously amazing event about various green chemistry topics. It was also great to learn and interact with distinguished lecturers, for instance, Prof. Anastas, Prof. Matyjaszewski, Prof. Kappe, and Prof. König, who gave insightful lectures concerning green chemistry, ATRP, microfluidic systems, photocatalyst, respectively. Last but not least, I firmly believe that despite their minimal differences, humans are full of similarities. Sincere meetings of a substantial number of young green chemists from 45 countries of the world, regardless of nationality, color, religion, language, etc., demonstrates that science is a universal language.

Akwaowo Imoh Inyangudoh (Nigeria)

The week-long 14th GCPSS was intriguing and impactful! It has shaped my thinking about my future research to always consider a greener approach. Towards a sustainable future, this program has achieved three interesting things: (a) diversity and inclusion; it helps to level up the science around green chemistry, especially that of low economies; (b) targeting and recognition of young scientists from all over the world as the driving force and future impact makers; and (c) putting the principles of green chemistry on our minds and making us see their relevance in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Furthermore, the social event created an excellent atmosphere for networking and future collaborations. Our special thanks go to the organizing team and the Summer School sponsors.

Lyvia Nara Barroso Menezes (Brazil)

I’ve always dreamed about being part of an IUPAC meeting and in 2019, during the World Congress in Paris, I heard about the Green Chemistry Summer School, and to be part of the 14th edition was a dream come true. I had the opportunity to know chemists from all over the world who share the experience and love for science. Like many scientists from low-income countries, I finished my post-graduation after my 30’s and I was a part-time student. The 14th GCPSS embraced me and gave me the fantastic opportunity to reconcile the desire to advance my career as a researcher and seek innovative environmental solutions. This is an essential steppingstone to making me an actor in charge of spreading global ideas and innovation on sanitation and waste-based biofuels production and applying green chemistry principles. IUPAC is concerned about the gender gap and this event made me feel enthusiastic about leaving a legacy of excellence for black women, particularly in the field of Green Chemistry.

Amy Naylor Randles (United Kingdom)

I was lucky enough to travel from the University of Nottingham to the 14th GCPSS in Venice with 7 of my fellow CDT colleagues, funded by the ESPRC CDT in Sustainable Chemistry. This opportunity allowed us to engage with other young green chemists from a plethora of countries, where we were able to discuss global and regional sustainability challenges and green chemistry project ideas. The many poster sessions and social events provided a platform for these detailed discussions. Two of my colleagues were given the opportunity to present their first poster titled ‘A greener route to the synthesis of monoarylphosphinic acids’. It was a privilege to present to a diverse range of young green chemists and this led to the development of many new ideas. The rest of the 14th GCPSS was filled with inspiring talks from some of the most prestigious green chemists from around the globe, including Professor Paul T. Anastas, alongside lots of good food, drink, and sunshine!

Zikhona Tywabi-Ngeva (South Africa)

I found the 14th GCPSS to have been amazing and enlightening. I started working on nanotechnology/nanomaterial research since 2015, but I was not really clued up on how to go about applying innovative solutions to the different industries through nanotechnology. I found the lecturers and their journeys in nanotechnology to be very inspiring and I’m feeling delighted to have been able to be a part of the 14th GCPSS. The content shared by the various lecturers was interesting and thought-provoking in a positive way. The 14th GCPSS also afforded the potential for nanotech research project collaborations, start-up collaborations, and postgraduate student supervision.

Conclusions

This GCPSS was held both in Venice and online, celebrating the end of uncertainty surrounding COVID-19-related travel restrictions. 161 postgraduate students attended (50 in-person and 111 online) from 45 different countries. Scientific lectures and other presentations from sponsors and invited speakers delivered engaging talks and motivated participants to do their part in promoting a sustainable future. Postgraduate students exchanged their knowledge through high-quality posters, which revealed their commitment to designing innovative green solutions. Students from diverse backgrounds were able to learn from each other and returned to their home countries inspired to advocate for the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It was a great opportunity to network with people from a variety of cultures and speak the common language of science. The 14th GCPSS successfully brought together like-minded scientists from around the world who all share the same goal of promoting the field of green chemistry. Hence, we believe that the GCPSS successfully achieved another goal set for the 14th edition. Therefore, the GCPSS must continue in the years to come to tirelessly train young green chemists. So that the world will one day have more science leaders and science advocates with green chemistry minds for building a sustainable society. Wholeheartedly, we were a few young green chemists who got lucky enough to have the opportunity to attend the 14th GCPSS. However, there are thousands, if not millions, of young chemists from around the globe, who still wait to have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Therefore, we hope that more sponsors will join Green Sciences for Sustainable Development Foundation (GSSDF), IUPAC Interdivisional Committee on Green Chemistry for Sustainable Development (ICGCSD), IUPAC, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), PhosAgro, Zhejiang NHU Co., Ltd., BRACCO Group, SASOL, and GreeNovator in the future to support the attendance of more young green chemists, particularly from the Global South, to join the next editions of the GCPSS.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Mirabbos Hojamberdiev for his encouragement and discussion during the preparation of this article.

On behalf of all the students who attended the 14th Green Chemistry Postgraduate Summer School, we would like to thank Prof. Pietro Tundo (Chairman) and the members of the Organizing Committee: Prof. Fabio Aricò, Dr. Aurelia Visa, and Dr. Mirabbos Hojamberdiev for organizing this remarkable Summer School on Green Chemistry.

The 14th GCPSS was organized and managed by the Green Sciences for Sustainable Development Foundation (www.gssd-foundation.org), a non-profit Foundation based in Venice, Italy. The event was endorsed by IUPAC, the International Young Chemists Network (IYCN), Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, the Italian National Commission for UNESCO Roma, the Ministero della Tranzizione Ecologica, the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development (IYBSSD) 2022, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Yale and the Patrocinio Regione del Veneto. The 14th GCPSS was sponsored by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, PhosAgro, Zhejiang NHU Co. Ltd., BRACCO Group, SASOL, and GreeNovator.

<https://iupac.org/event/xiv-postgraduate-summer-school-on-green-chemistry/>