Plasticycle USEK/Swiss
Swiss partners
-
Haute école d'ingénierie et d'architecture de Fribourg: Roger Marti (main applicant), Rudy Koopmans
-
Ostschweizer Fachhochschule: Daniel Schwendemann
-
Université de Lausanne: Valentina Pavlovic, Gastone Faccin
Partners in the MENA region
-
Université Saint-Esprit Kaslik, Liban: Nancy Zgheib-Tabet (main applicant), Marylise Salim, Peter Obeid
Presentation of the project
Within this Research Partnership Grant the academic partners Haute école d'ingénierie et d'architecture de Fribourg, OST Rapperswil, and Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) and Plasticycle, a student project at USEK that won the award for the best project by the Swiss-Middle East Circular Economy for Youth Initiative (SMECEYI), met in Switzerland and in Lebanon for technical meetings, conferences, university and company visits to expand and strengthen the network within circular plastic economy and explore further collaborations. In May 2023, Plasticycle organized a conference in Beirut called "Let's Talk Waste," which was attended by more than 50 people to share ideas and network. A proposal on “Zero Carbon Biodiesel Lebanon-Switzerland” was submitted for the call “HES-SO - Technologies appropriées pour le développement durable 2022”, unfortunately the project was not accepted. The team will apply for the LH MENA Consolidation Grant 2023 on the topic circular plastic economy.
The project was a very positive experience, besides the more technical topics and work, especially the exchange between the partners, Switzerland and Lebanon, was very enriching. The visit to Switzerland and Lebanon and the contacts made there have laid the foundation for further collaborations in the field of teaching and research.