Cultivating global research collaboration with University funding

THE University’s International Collaboration Fund has facilitated in cultivating further collaboration with one of Europe’s leading institutions for science and engineering after it enabled a Huddersfield academic to visit RWTH Aachen University in Germany and deliver a workshop showcasing his research on circular water economy and wastewater treatment.

Dr Athanasios Angelis-Dimakis, a Reader in Chemical Engineering from the University’s Department of Chemical Sciences, has been conducting research for a major European wide project titled AquaSPICE since 2020.  The €12.8 million project includes 29 partners from across Europe and aims to materialise circular water use in European Process Industries, foster awareness in resource-efficiency and deliver compact solutions for industrial applications. RWTH Aachen University is the project’s lead co-ordinator.

The workshop featured research conducted by Dr Angelis-Dimakis on the environmental impact and assessment of various AquaSPICE technologies as well as including presentations on life cycle assessment, wastewater treatment and industrial symbiosis.

As well as delivering the workshop, Dr Angelis-Dimakis was able to utilise a further funding opportunity, as a result of the University’s partnership with Santander Universities, in the form of a Santander Mobility Grant, making it possible for a group of undergraduate students to accompany him on the visit.  

The students, all studying Masters of Engineering degrees in Chemical Engineering, were Matthew Ridley, Abi Whitehouse, Ozana Vlad and Daniels Valdmanis.  Individually, they presented their research theses on themes aligned with the AquaSPICE project and gained valuable experience showcasing their research to leading experts at one of the world’s top 150 universities, as cited by the 2023 QS World University Rankings.

Fostering further collaboration

Dr Angelis-Dimakis, an active member of the University’s Biorefinery Engineering and Bioprocessing Research Centre, is now in the process of planning another visit to RWTH Aachen University, to take place by the end of 2023, using the second half of the funding.

“The University has established connections with RWTH Aachen University in a number of areas, such as metrology for example,” said Dr Angelis-Dimakis. 

“Fostering further collaboration, with a trip planned for next year, will allow us to be able to work together on a paper that will showcase productive use of the International Collaboration Fund, demonstrate tangible knowledge exchange with a Top150 university, as well as being an excellent example of how we enhance the global student experience here at the University of Huddersfield,” he added.

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