THROWBACK ON THE BIO4SPHERE SUMMER SCHOOL IN FRANCE

From 21^st to 25^th September 2026, participants to the BIO4SPHERE summer school got immersed in the heart of the green transition. This event, entitled “BIOeconomy for Sustainable Packaging, Housing, Engineering & Renewable Energy” took place at the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA) in France.

Regional sustainability and local roots: INVEST at the heart of the summer school

This summer school brought together participants to explore bioeconomy, sustainability and their impact on local territories. All along the week, students could develop practical skills through lectures on sustainable building materials, packaging, land use planning and bioenergy. The pedagogical programme also included practical visits and field trips:

• The bioeconomy olympiads, to learn more about bioeconomy and the region in a playful way through interactive games
• A visit of the European Hemp Hub laboratory, to discover the different hemp uses for insulation in their laboratories
• A cultural visit to an organic champagne winemaker, to discover how champagne is made
• A visit of the Induced Resistance and Plant Bioprotection research laboratory, during which researchers from URCA offered participants an inside view of their laboratory and greenhouses

To reinforce the link to regional sustainability even more, the event was labelled as part of the Bioeconomy month led by the Grand Est region, acknowledged by the European Commission as one of the most dynamic French territories for bioeconomy.

Students were also encouraged to get more involved in the European policies through a presentation of EU Bioeconomy Youth Ambassadors, a programme to bring the new generation into the bioeconomy dialogue.

Finally, the summer school concluded on the “One planet, many perspectives: building sustainable futures together" roundtable involving local stakeholders. During this dedicated time, they could share their opinions and explain their role into building a sustainable future. Many thanks to the speakers:

• Anne Desveronnieres, Vice President in Charge of Sustainable Development for the Greater Reims Urban Community
• Laurent Kosmalski, Regional Director for the East at Veolia Water France
• Lancelot Duchâteau, Head of Development at Dev’Pack & a graduate from ESIREIMS
• Marc Soucat, Urbanist landscaper at Savart Paysage
• Sabrina Ferhat, Urbanist architect at Savart Paysage

Creating and innovating as a European University Alliance

This event was an opportunity to build a summer school as a European University Alliance: it was created with lecturers from the seven member universities, gathered students from six of them and was organised with four departments of URCA. The Reims National Higher School of Engineering (ESIREIMS) ensured the pedagogical approach, and the Excellence Bioeco Academy Campus (CMQe Bioeco Academy) ensured the link with bioeconomy.

Bachelor’s, master’s degree and PhD students could work in international teams, benefiting from each other’s skills as their profiles ranged from sustainability management to agrosciences, regional development or even international economics.

To go even further, this summer school was also the occasion to involve the European Project Engineering Office of URCA and create a dedicated session for researchers to network.

All in all, a compelling example of the added value of being part of a European University Alliance: easily co-creating innovative programmes within the alliance and a catalyst within universities.