Summer School “Plastics Mindset: Sustainability in Polymers” Attracted Students from Across Europe
13. August 2025The Department of Polymer Engineering at the Faculty of Technology, Tomas Bata University in Zlín, hosted the international summer school Plastics Mindset: Sustainability in Polymers from 3 to 8 August 2025. The virtual introductory part of the programme took place earlier, on 28 July 2025. The event was supported by the Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme.
The programme offered lectures, hands-on workshops, and professional excursions to Greiner Packaging and the Centre of Polymer Systems, as well as a rich social programme. Participants attended a welcome reception on the rooftop terrace of building U7, visited the Rudolf Jelínek distillery in Vizovice, enjoyed a guided tour of the Zlín skyscraper, and spent an evening barbecuing in the courtyard of the Zlín chateau.
In addition to experts from the Faculty of Technology, the teaching team included guest lecturers from the University of Pardubice, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Polymers of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Industry representatives also participated, including those from Greiner Packaging, Borealis AG, and the Institute for Testing and Certification.
The summer school welcomed 20 students from five European universities: Hochschule Kaiserslautern (Germany), Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (Slovakia), Casimir Pulaski Radom University (Poland), Lodz University of Technology (Poland), and ISEP – Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (Portugal).
The event not only deepened participants’ professional knowledge in the field of polymer sustainability but also fostered international collaboration and mutual inspiration between students and lecturers. Feedback from all participants was overwhelmingly positive, providing strong motivation to continue similar activities in the future.
