Sustainable Electronics Initiative Blog

StEP E-Waste Summer School Call for Applicants; Deadline May 1

Joy Scrogum | April 14, 2011

Following the huge success of the E-waste Summer Schools in 2009 and 2010, the United Nations University Institute for Sustainability and Peace (UNU-ISP) has announced the call for applications for the StEP E-waste Summer School 2011. Now in its third edition, this year’s School will take place from 11 – 22 September in Eindhoven/Netherlands, Antwerp/Belgium and includes participation in the World Resources Forum in Davos/Switzerland.

The StEP E-waste Summer School is a pioneering concept in research and education on waste electrical and electronic equipment, looking at the e-waste issue in its entirety, rather than through the lens of one specific academic discipline. The Summer School provides the foremost platform to young scientists involved in e-waste related research to share their knowledge, interact with experts and develop collaborative partnerships fostering cutting-edge scientific research on all areas related to e-waste–from policies and technologies to economics and social aspects.

The call for applications is now open, and the deadline for applications is May 1, 2011. StEP is inviting applications from doctoral students, final year master students and early career post-docs currently researching on e-waste and related areas to come together and share knowledge, interact with experts and gain a holistic view on e-waste. A focus is placed on e-waste in emerging economies, thus researchers in developing and emerging economies and/or exploring the challenges and solutions of e-waste management in these countries are especially encouraged to apply.

For more information, check out the website www.step-initiative.org/summerschool or contact the program at summerschool@step-initiative.org.

Thanks to Stéphanie H. Leclerc for sharing details of this program with SEI.

Comments: No Comments »
Categories: Consumer Information, Design for Environment (DfE), Education, Electronics Recycling, Legislation, Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), News/Press Releases, Policy, Pollution Prevention, Product Stewardship, Sustainable Product Design, University Programs
Comments rss
Trackback

International E-Waste Design Competition Deadline Extended

Joy Scrogum | April 1, 2011

In light of recent international events which may have impacted the lives of potential international competitors or international students studying within the U.S., event organizers have decided to extend the deadline for the 2011 International E-Waste Design Competition. Interested individuals or teams (of up to 5 people) may submit entries by 4:59 p.m. (Central Time), May 9, 2011.

Registration is free and materials are submitted online. College students and recent graduates from around the world are encouraged to submit their ideas for products or services that prevent e-waste generation through life-cycle considerations (E-Waste Prevention Category) or that incorporate e-waste components into a new and useful item (E-Waste Reuse Category). See the rules posted on the competition web site for complete details regarding eligibility and descriptions of project categories. One entry per person or team is allowed. Students are not allowed to be on more than one team, but students are allowed to submit a project with one team and additionally submit one individual project.

As part of their entry, participants will upload an online “video commercial” for their project to YouTube. (See “Registration” on the competition web site for complete entry requirements.) Expert jurors from Fortune500 companies, professional organizations, government agencies, universities and non-profits will award monetary prizes to individuals or teams in each category, for a total of six prizes. Honorary mention awards may be given at the discretion of the judges. Competition sponsors include leading manufacturers, retailers and professional organizations.

The spirit of this competition is to prompt the industrialized world to dialogue about product designs for environmentally responsible green computing and entertainment. The goals of this competition are to learn about ways to reuse e-waste for new and productive means, explore your own ideas for how to address e-waste problems and contribute to the body of knowledge that advances the practice of environmentally responsible product design for current and future computing technology products. We invite you to create a broad range of design concepts and innovations for technology products that demonstrate fresh approaches and responsible solutions for green computing technologies. Engineering, design, sustainability, or business knowledge will be helpful but not required for success in this competition.

For more information on the competition, visit the competition site or contact Joy Scrogum at 217-333-8948.