From September 18 to 25, at the invitation of partners from the University Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr, Bochum, Germany), a group of researchers, PhD students, and students from the Faculties of Biology & Ecology and Chemistry at DNU (Dnipro National University) are participating in the international Summer School „Blue Future”, focused on „Polluted Areas, Water Body Renaturalization, and Water Purification“.
.jpg)
.jpg)
This five-day event is held as part of the joint „DniProNRW – Science Bridge“ project, supported by the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration and the Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia.
.jpg)
.jpg)
On the first day of the international summer school „Blue Future”, the team of DNU arrived in the city of Essen. There, at an outdoor experimental site belonging to the University of Duisburg-Essen, DNU specialists were introduced to the ecosystem „FieldFlumes“. A detailed presentation was delivered by Philipp Rheesen, a PhD candidate conducting his doctoral research at the site.
.jpg)
.jpg)
In particular, groups of leading biologists and chemists, as well as students and staff from our university, had the opportunity to observe a series of planned experiments.
.jpg)
.jpg)
The scientific delegation from Dnipro was led by Rector Sergiy Okovytyy (Doctor of Chemical Sciences, Professor) and Vice-Rector for International Cooperation Viktor Gasso (Candidate of Biological Sciences, Associate Professor). The research team from the DNU Faculty of Biology and Ecology consisted of: Tetiana Sharamok – Dean, Associate Professor of the Department of General Biology and Aquatic Bioresources, and Leading Researcher at the Research Laboratory of Hydrobiology, Ichthyology, and Radiobiology (DNU Research Institute of Biology); Natalia Yesipova – Head of the Department of General Biology and Aquatic Bioresources and Leading Researcher at the same laboratory; Serhii Yermolenko – Senior Researcher at the Research Institute of Biology; and Ihor Chumakov – a second-year student (group BG-25-1). The research group from the Faculty of Chemistry included: Svitlana Koptieva – Dean, Associate Professor of the Department of Physical, Organic, and Inorganic Chemistry, and Senior Researcher at the Research Laboratory of Theoretical and Applied Chemical Problems (DNU Research Institute of Chemistry and Geology); Katerina Matorina – Associate Professor of the Department of Analytical Chemistry and Chemical Technology; and Oksana Saievych – Associate Professor of the Department of Physical, Organic, and Inorganic Chemistry. Information support for the project is provided by Alla Bakhmetieva – Head of the DNU „UNI-press“ Information and Analytical Agency, Associate Professor of the Department of Mass and International Communication, and Candidate of Sciences in Social Communications.
.jpg)
.jpg)
At the presented experimental facility, specialists of DNU examined the FieldFlumes river ecosystem model, which replicates conditions close to those found in nature. This is a large, specialized structure consisting of 12 identical channels that allow German scientists to model and analyze natural hydrological and ecosystem processes, with the capability to replicate them.
.jpg)
.jpg)
The first day of the summer school continued with a session combining lectures and laboratory work at the University of Duisburg-Essen’s RESIST Joint Research Center. Dr. Daniel Grabner, Milen Nache, and Arne Beermann presented the activities of the Center and led tours of the laboratories for the colleagues from Dnipro. Participants viewed the state-of-the-art equipment in the hydroecology and aquatic ecosystem research laboratories. They also attended a special lecture on metabarcoding and environmental DNA (eDNA), gaining insight into cutting-edge research approaches in the fields of molecular biology, bioinformatics, genetics, and hydroecology.
.jpg)
.jpg)
The DNU delegation’s next stops will include a tour of the algae research laboratory at the University of Duisburg-Essen campus, a visit to the water treatment plant in Dinslaken, and a tour of the restored floodplains of the Emscher and Rhine rivers. These activities are scheduled for the second day of the summer school “Blue Future”.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Subsequently, the participants will visit the educational and research facilities of two other institutions within the University Alliance Ruhr: TU Dortmund University and Ruhr University Bochum.
.jpg)
.jpg)
It is worth noting that the initiator of the summer school for representatives of Oles Honchar Dnipro National University – and the direct organizer of this research trip – is Dr.-Ing. Sebastian Schmuck. He is a senior researcher at the University of Duisburg-Essen’s Faculty of Engineering, working within the departments of Civil Engineering, Urban Water Management, and Waste Management. Dr. Schmuck has previously been actively involved in organizing charitable aid for his colleagues at DNU. For instance, in early September, thanks to his active assistance, our university received a consignment of scientific laboratory equipment from UA Ruhr – provided free of charge – which bolstered the facilities of the Faculties of Biology and Ecology and of Chemistry, the Research Institutes of Biology and of Chemistry and Geology, as well as other essential computer, network, and audiovisual hardware.
Інформаційно-аналітичне агентство
Дніпровського національного університету
