Trinational Summer School “Urban micropollutants - diagnoses, challenges and solutions for the city of the 21st century”

From Monday, July 7 to Thursday, July 10, 2025, the University of Strasbourg will be hosting a Summer School on the theme of urban micropollutants.

What is it about?

Micropollutants, which result from human activities such as transport, construction, agriculture, industry and the daily use of various products, represent a major environmental challenge for urban centers. This Summer School, aimed at doctoral students, proposes an inter- and transdisciplinary approach to better understand the sources and impacts of these micropollutants, as well as the socio-environmental strategies for limiting their use, presence and dispersion in the various environmental matrices in urban environments.

Participants will begin by exploring methods for diagnosing micropollutants, addressing both historical pollutants and emerging contaminants present in various environmental compartments. They will then analyse possible and robust socio-ecological trajectories towards a cleaner, more sustainable city, identifying challenges and alternatives to the use of these substances. A session will be devoted to governance and regulation, in order to gain a better understanding of policies for managing and reducing discharges in urban environments. Finally, contamination modelling and monitoring tools will be examined to assess monitoring and forecasting solutions.

The program will alternate lectures by experts, field visits led by researchers, and group work, encouraging collective intelligence and interdisciplinary exchanges. At the end of the program, the doctoral students will present their work to city representatives involved in micropollutant management. This Summer School will thus provide a unique opportunity to interact with specialists and make a concrete contribution to the urban challenges of the 21ᵉ century.

Who can take part?

20 places for doctoral students and Post-Docs.

No previous knowledge required. Main working language: English.

Application

Please send your application (CV, letter of motivation and short description of your doctoral project, maximum 2 DIN A4 pages, PDF format) in English by May 15, 2025 to td-summerschool@eucor-uni.org.

Participants are expected to speak English (main working language) and French or/and German. The selection criteria relate to the composition of an international and interdisciplinary group as well as the motivation of the candidates.

Selection will take place directly after the application deadline. You will receive a response to your application by the end of May 2025 at the latest.

The participation fee is € 130 (including accommodation in a student residence) or € 65 (excluding accommodation).

For further information, please contact Ms. Sofia Ganter (University of Freiburg) at td-summerschool@eucor-uni.org.