Mission
Our mission as an EELISA Community is to support innovation for the design, development and upscaling of novel or enhanced materials and devices that can boost the transition to greener technologies and contribute to a sustainable future.
Intro
With a rapidly increasing population with growing demands, materials science and engineering has emerged as a critical discipline toward protecting the environment and ensuring the survival of future generations. Moreover, advanced materials is considered as a key enabling technology and a key strategic sector by the EU and its impact on industry in Europe is enormous: more than 30 billion €, 500.000 jobs and 3 billion € annual investment in R&D and facilities. Since Materials touch every aspect of human life, the proposed mission covers interdisciplinary issues spanning renewable energy, energetic efficiency, nanotechnology, environmental monitoring, health, construction, transportation, manufacturing processes, recycling etc. (related to 6 SDGs). The main goal will be promoted through specific missions in all these fields and will require a highly interdisciplinary approach that covers all the aspects involved in the production and actual application of advanced materials: materials and devices design, fabrication, characterization, testing, upscaling and life-cycle analysis, going from fundamental science to the real implementation and application in industry.
According to the intrinsic interdisciplinary nature of materials science and engineering, the Advanced Materials for a Sustainable Futurecommunity will be initially formed by 41 PDI and 2 PAS of 8 different Schools of UPM. Moreover, the research institutes with activity in advanced materials in UPM have joined the community: CIME, ISOM, IES, CEMDATIC and CTB, as well as key centers external to UPM: IMDEA Materiales, IMDEA Energía and IMN-CSIC. Companies such as Técnicas Reunidas, Emerson Solutions, Auna Arquitectos SL and Vía Ágora SL have already expressed a strong interest in collaborating with the community. Our community will also work in close collaboration with theComunidad UPM en Materiales Avanzados para la Sostenibilidad.
This configuration will allow a strong component of research-, challenge-, project- and problem-based learning for students of the community though participation in specific challenges linked to the main mission. The participant PDI teach in 18 different Bachelor and Master UPM degrees in which materials for sustainability have a crucial role. In particular, the coordinator of the community is the coordinator of the Materials Engineering Bachelor and Master degrees at UPM. The community seeks to establish the degrees in Materials Engineering as a pilot program for the curricular integration of the EELISA activities (advantages: it is not a professionally-qualifying degree, which gives freedom to make curricular adaptations to integrate student’s activities; it is highly multidisciplinary due to the participation of 6 different Schools; the third year of the Bachelor and whole Master is taught fully in English). Students will be motivated and guided towards the community-driven challenges through MOOCs, a stronger presence of sustainability in many subjects and the creation of a 4 ECTS elective subject in the 4th course of the Materials Engineering Bachelor: Ideas Lab: advanced materials for a sustainable world. This subject could be also implemented in other degrees in the near future and will include the annual selection of the best project proposed within the subject and promotion to Actúa UPM initiative if adequate. We will also promote the role of advanced materials in sustainability among UPM student associations and the Student Section of ISA in order to further foster the connection between students and companies (students of ISA-ETSIDI have already expresses their interest). An award to the excellence in societal compromise and contribution to sustainability through materials engineering for students, PDI and companies will also be created and linked to the EELISA credential.
Coordinator
The community coordinator is Jose María Ulloa: josem.ulloa@upm.es
