Three New Initiatives for Students and PhD Candidates Interested in Sustainability and Climate Change

Are you a student or PhD candidate interested in sustainability, climate change, or environmental protection?
Three unique international initiatives are now open for applications – offering the chance to gain knowledge, connect with peers and experts, and engage in real solutions for a better future. Whether you’re looking for an online summer school, a global PhD network, or an in-person workshop focused on plastic pollution in the Baltic Sea Region – there’s something here for you.

The University of Rostock and the University of Greifswald share a call for applications to the SustainMV online summer school

This is a joint summer school of six universities in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany, with a focus on sustainability. Namely, the University of Rostock, the University of Applied Sciences Stralsund, the University of Greifswald, the University of Applied Sciences Neubrandenburg, the University of Applied Sciences, Technology, Business and Design Wismar, and the University of Music and Drama Rostock. This event is held in connection to the German BUP Presidency.
The online program consists of three days filled with lectures covering a wide range of sustainability-related topics, especially Ecosystems, Renewable Energies, Tourism, Digital & Technological Innovations, Waste & Recycling and Social Sustainability. Academics from all universities involved will present their work and research.
The online summer school takes place from 19-21 August and it is open to international bachelor, master and PhD students in any sustainability-related subject area. There is no fee to take part, only registration is necessary.
The first 300 registrations are accepted to take part. A certificate of participation can be given to the student after participating in the online summer school.
To read the full program and apply, visit the SustainMV website.

Hamburg University of Applied Sciences shares an invitation to join the World PhD Students Climate Change Network

PhD students working on matters related to climate change will lead future trends in a 2030-2050 scale when they will occupy key roles in academia, industry, and other sectors. It is therefore vital that they get the best possible training. One important component of this training is the interaction and exchange of information among their peers.
Many doctoral students work in an isolated manner, detached from other interdisciplinary groups. They seldom have the opportunity to write side papers for top journals with a qualified team or to discuss their works with international PhD students and experts from outside their organisations. Yet, much could be achieved by such an interaction. It is on the basis of the need to address this gap that the World PhD Students Climate Change Network has been created.
The network is organised by the International Climate Change Information and Research Programme (ICCIRP) at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences and the Manchester Metropolitan University.

The main goals of the network are:
To provide PhD students with an opportunity to display and present their works in events such as the World PhD Students Summit, which is held annually;
To offer support in the preparation of papers for top journals, as part of a qualified team;
To organise seminars and workshops on climate change research and disseminate suitable approaches and methodological tools;
To provide a space to foster the exchange of information, ideas and experiences acquired in the execution of PhD research projects.

Ultimately, it is a network platform, which PhD students can use to explore the possibilities for cooperation.
Interested persons are invited to register to join the World PhD Students Climate Change Network.

Workshop: ‘Young Researchers for a Plastic Free Baltic Sea Region’

The three-day workshop will be organised for current master’s and PhD students at BUP participating universities and other universities in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR), who aim to become future researchers, experts, and decision-makers.
The event takes place in Hamburg on 22-24 September. The workshop is the result of collaboration within the BSR between the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, the Interreg Baltic-funded project BALTIPLAST, and The Baltic University Programme (BUP), making this event also a part of the German BUP Presidency.

The topic of the event is ‘Young Researchers for a Plastic Free Baltic Sea Region’ and it will be held in a hybrid format where in the morning the presentations from the experts will be available to the wider public, while in the afternoon around 30 students will actively collaborate with experts on the strategies on how to implement solutions developed under the BALTIPLAST project and to transfer them across the BSR. Experts in circularity, environmental management, policies and plastic pollution in the BSR will present and discuss soft and technical solutions developed under the BALTIPLAST project.

The event aims to establish stronger connections between experts and the participating young researchers from universities in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) who are starting their individual research under the topics covered at the event. The participants will be provided with knowledge within the field and introduced to across-BRS region opportunities for future collaborations.
There is a possibility to get published in the Springer Book Innovation in the Circularity of Plastic Materials. For those interested there is the opportunity to submit an abstract via the registration form.

The participants should be conducting research in the Baltic Sea Region within any of the following fields or related topics:

• Biology

• Environmental Science

• Circular Economy

• Ecology

• Planetary Health

• Climate Change

The deadline for registration is 15 July. The selection of participants will be based on the motivation provided in the registration. The selected applicants will be informed if they are accepted by 20 July.

Registration form – Workshop: ‘Young Researchers for a Plastic Free Baltic Sea Region’

Location: Hamburg, Germany
Dates: 22-24 September 2025