On 17th October 2022, a Polish-Norwegian meeting on cooperation in education for sustainable battery technology was held at the Faculty of Chemistry of the Jagiellonian University. The meeting was an opportunity to present the scientific and research potential of both institutions and to discuss the possibility of educational collaborationbetween the JU Faculty of Chemistry and the UIS Faculty of Science and Technology.
The meeting was attended by a delegation from the Norwegian University of Stavanger (UIS) which consisted of Ms Bente Dale from UIS International Office, Professor Øystein Arild - Head of the Energy and Petroleum Engineering Department, and UIS Faculty of Science and Technology staff professors: Zhixin Yu, Sachin Chavan and Steinar Evje. The Faculty of Chemistry was represented by its Dean, Professor Wojciech Macyk as well as the Vice-Deans: Dr hab. Piotr Pietrzyk, Prof. UJ and Dr hab. Paweł Wydro, Prof. UJ, the head and staff of the JU Group of Technology of Materials and Nanomaterials: Dr hab. Marcin Molenda, Prof. UJ; Dr Michał Świętosławski; Dr Krystian Chudzik; Dr hab. Agnieszka Węgrzyn, Prof. UJ - the Erasmus+ programme coordinator; and Faculty members: Dr hab. Krzysztof Kruczała, Prof. UJ and Dr hab. Dariusz Matoga, Prof. UJ. The event was also attended by the Director of the JU Centre for Technology Transfer CITTRU, Dr Gabriela Konopka-Cupiał, and the co-founder of the Norwegian-Polish Foundation, Arild Skaaland.
The most important aim of the meeting was to establish cooperation in qualified personnel education with broad knowledge and competence in the area of sustainable electrochemical battery technology.
'China is currently leading the global battery race by far. The introduction of batteries for a wide range of applications is an important part of the green transition and decarbonisation. We anticipate a large need for batteries in the future, and establishing competency in this domain is critical for Europe in order to become a world leader in battery technology and to obtain high export value. Close collaboration between European universities and acting as one European team will strengthen us in terms of having a steeper learning curve and sharing information and resources to move forward faster', said Professor Øystein Arild.
Undertaking educational cooperation in the field of sustainable energy storage technology will increase the possibilities for training specialists whose numbers are currently insufficient with respect to the market. The opportunities for cooperation were considered in terms of formal possibilities, obtaining appropriate funding and, above all, making use of the research potential of both research institutions. The guests visited the building of the Faculty of Chemistry, learning about the modern research infrastructure available in the teaching and research laboratories and the specialised laboratory of the Group of Technology of Materials and Nanomaterials. After the meeting, the guests from UIS observed that research at the Faculty of Chemistry is conducted at a high international level and that these activities are very important for further development of battery technology.
'We particularly liked that you combine science with battery engineering skills and we were also impressed by the wide range of experimental infrastructure that you have available both for students and researchers', explained Professor Arild.
The meeting identified research opportunities and established contact between the Faculties. Further activities will focus on the formal and practical aspects of setting up an educational collaboration for sustainable battery technology.
