TALENT PASS Project: Lisbon Event on Plastics in the Circular Economy
Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), University of Lisbon hosted the Talent Pass Lisbon Event 2026, held under the title Plastics in the Circular Economy, from 28–30 April 2026, bringing together project partners, international experts, and industry representatives for three days of science, capacity building, and project governance.
28 April 2026 | Plastics in the Circular Economy
The opening day was given to the scientific programme. Prof. Jorge Coelho (University of Coimbra – Portugal) set the scene on plastics and sustainability, before Dr. Patrick Navard (Center for Materials Forming – France) put the field's hardest question directly: is recycling plastic fully feasible? Dr. Magdalena Aflori (Petru Poni Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, ICMPP – Romania) presented work on forging multifunctional materials from circular eco-technologies, Prof. Uroš Novak (National Institute of Chemistry, NIC – Slovenia) reviewed the status quo and remaining challenges for biopolymers in next-generation packaging, and Dr. Nargiz Aliyeva (FARPLAS – Turkey) traced the route from sustainable polymer design to industrial injection moulding in automotive R&D.
The afternoon session ranged from new bioderived polymers (Prof. Ana C. Marques, IST) and microencapsulation (Dr. António Aguiar, IST) to product design with recycled plastics (Prof. Ana Carvalho, IST) and AI for material design (Prof. Pedro Mendes, IST). Dr. Mardaru Anamaria (Chimcomplex SA – Romania) showed how PET waste can be turned into a value product via phthalic acid and DOTP, and Dr. Catalina Stoica (National R&D Institute for Industrial Ecology, ECOIND – Romania) presented multidisciplinary contributions to microplastics management. The day ended with a guided walking tour of Lisbon.
29 April 2026 | Capacity Building & Advisory Board
The second day focused on the skills that carry research beyond the laboratory. Emer Murphy (Crowdhelix Limited – United Kingdom) opened with engaging science communication strategies for reach and impact, followed by Dr. Sofia Aires Martins (IST) decoding Horizon Europe topics step by step and MSc Antonieta Ribeiro (IST) on the role of intellectual property in research and project management. Dr. Markus Dettenhofer (Czech University of Life Sciences Prague – Czech Republic) examined economic scenarios for sustainable polymers and packaging materials, and Dr. Anca Mandruleanu (Imperial College London – United Kingdom) closed the sessions on technology transfer, commercialisation, and circular innovation.
The afternoon was given to the International Advisory Board (IAB) meeting, followed by a visit to the IST facilities and an official dinner for participants.
30 April 2026 | Project Management & Consortium Meeting
The final day was dedicated to internal coordination, with sessions of the General Assembly, the Executive Board and Project Management, the WP Leaders Group / Steering Committee, and the Dissemination, Exploitation and Innovation Committee (DEIC). Discussions covered progress across the work packages, upcoming activities, and the project's dissemination and exploitation priorities for the year ahead.
Talent Pass Consortium
From Circular Research to Industrial Practice
The Lisbon event brought academic researchers, research institutes, and industrial partners around the same set of questions on plastics circularity, from polymer design and recycling routes to microplastics, product design, and AI-assisted materials discovery. In pairing that scientific programme with training on communication, intellectual property, and commercialisation, TALENT PASS continues to build the skills and the cross-border connections its partners need to turn circular economy research into practice.
