Project duration: 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2024

Objective

The IMAGINE-III project is the extension of the successful legacy KAVA IMAGINE-I and IMAGINE-II projects. A consortium of five top universities and 1 industry partner, established 9 double master degree tracks that deliver the EIT-Labelled Sustainable Materials (SUMA) Master Programme. IMAGINE-III will expand the consortium to RIS countries, add digitalization into curricula and strenghten the SUMA innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives.

The solution (technology)

The EIT-Labelled Sustainable Materials Master Programme (hereinafter referred to as SUMA) educates high-level European and international engineering and science students in the field of materials science and engineering. SUMA covers all aspects of the materials life cycle addressing materials development and substitution, materials selection, materials production and transformation, materials degradation, materials recycling across the material families both for structural and functional materials. SUMA is also integrates innovation & entrepreneurship education into the curriculum in order to equip SUMA students with the necessary, in-demand I&E knowledge, skills, attitudes and competences enabling students to contextualize and apply materials science disciplinary knowledge to real industrial and societal challenges. This has been acknowledged and certified by EIT as SUMA successfully obtained the EIT-Label in 2016, a quality seal awarded to Master and PhD programmes which demonstrate excellence in I&E education.

Each SUMA student spends a full year in two of the partner universities and an internship in an affiliated company obtaining international as well as a first professional experience in the materials field . SUMA is also embedded in EIT RawMaterials and is interacting with and is supported by the EIT RawMaterials Academy, ensuring it benefits from joint-programme and central coordination but also profiting from central support with marketing, branding, recruitment and provision of entrepreneurial opportunities as part of the EIT RawMaterials Master School. SUMA participates actively in the EIT Label Meetings organized by the EIT RM educational officers to establish the EIT RM Academy community and drives through its unique educational approach and content the emergence of a European innovation oriented generation of young engineers and scientists in the field of sustainable materials.

The SUMA master thus contributes to a solid EIT RawMaterials educational backbone at the Master level by forming innovators and entrepreneurs for the raw materials industry with a deep expertise in sustainable materials and processes. The IMAGINE-project enters into a third phase: building on the excellent results and lessons learned, it will intensify its activities and add new components to respond to the growing needs of the raw materials sector.

The SUMA master programmes started in September 2016 their operational phase and further development were the focus of IMAGINE-II. Nine study tracks were created and activated with multiple entry and exit university configurations, each track combining the strengths of two of the partner universities and focusing on a different, distinct specialization. The aim of the IMAGINE-III project is to successfully continue the implementation of the educational programmes. New components are added in order to strengthen the existing curricula, keep SUMA relevant and pioneering, and align SUMA with the strategic direction of EIT RawMaterials and its Academy. These new focal points that will be introduced are (1) increasing skills in digitalization by connecting data sciences with materials engineering and thereby leveraging materials knowledge to improve processes and products (2) further solidifying I&E knowledge, skills and attitude by strengthening start-up creation in the SUMA student population; (3) extending SUMA’s geographical scope by adding two new partners from a RIS country: AGH University of Science and Technology (AGH, Poland, Krakow) and the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM, Spain). Atlantic Copper Chair organised by UPM will give lectures in metallurgy to bachelor students – potential SUMA candidates. Finally, SUMA will continuously creating opportunities for the students to participate in networking and matchmaking events with EIT RawMaterials partner companies, linking students (job seekers) with industry (talent seekers).

Partnership

  • AGH University of Science and Technology, Poland
  • Atlantic Copper S.L.U., Spain
  • Grenoble Institute of Technology, INP, France
  • Montanuniversität Leoben, Austria
  • UMICORE NV, Belgium
  • Technical University of Madrid, Spain
  • University of Milano- Bicocca, Italy
  • University of Trento, Italy
  • Katholieke Universiteit te Leuven (KU Leuven) (Lead Partner), Belgium

For more information, please visit the project website.