The second edition of RawMaterials University Day (RMUD) in 2018 took place over two days, on 27 and 28 September 2018, at the University of Padova in Italy. The RMUD events were part of the open dissemination event of the University of Padova entitled NEMES (Non è magia è scienza – It’s science, not magic). This successful event has taken place annually since 2007 and is open to the general public of the city of Padova.

EIT RawMaterials staff Dr Floriana La Marca, Education Manager, and Ellie Stephenson, Education Project Manager, ran a session on both Thursday and Friday, opening with a presentation of the problems we face in Europe concerning raw materials supply and the career opportunities in the sector, and followed by an interactive team quiz. Each session was attended by approximately 60 students. The target audience for this session was students (age group 10-16), particularly school leavers (age group 17-18), although all the NEMES and RMUD activities were open to the general public as well.

Attracting students’ attention to the raw materials topic with interactive learning experiences

Students had the opportunity to participate in real laboratory experiments and watch demonstrations. These included how to obtain coloured flames and how to use this test to identify metals; and using the same principle, to show how fireworks are made. Simple, harmless yet spectacular chemical reactions were performed with substances readily available in a supermarket or pharmacy. Students also learnt how polymers can be produced relatively easily, forming the molecules for the plastics and resins that we encounter in everyday life. There were presentations on the circular economy and on the critical elements contained within a smartphone.

The RMUD activities also included many fun and interactive learning experiences, including board games on critical raw materials. A particular highlight was the Crime Scene activity, where four teams of pupils examined the clues from a hypothetical crime scene set up in one of the department’s laboratories. Students completed tasks such as testing fingerprints using different raw materials in order to solve the case.

Older students also tackled an entrepreneurial challenge: to create a new company in the field of electronic waste. Organised in teams, they planned an entrepreneurial activity based on both their previous knowledge and the knowledge given by two experts, considering problems such as raw materials in electronic devices, circular economy and environmental sustainability and the product life cycle: recycling and reuse in the context of a sustainable business model.

Study and career opportunities specifically targeted to Bachelor, Master and PhD degree students in the area of raw materials research and technology were demonstrated with live testimonials from the Alumni di Chimica UniPd group, dedicated talks of invited speakers from industry, and specific info points dedicated to careers in this area.

Many students already involved in their thesis work were actively involved as demonstrators and speakers. The entire raw materials value chain was highlighted with a particular emphasis on processing, recycling, substitution and circular economy.