WASTE MANAGEMENT AND BIOWASTE USE IN FOCUS OF ANOTHER EUGLOH COURSE SUCCESSFULLY HELD AT UNS

Within the EUGLOH Alliance, the University of Novi Sad welcomed the participants of a weeklong EUGLOH course, which focused on the process of transforming biowaste into functional products. The course “From Biowaste to Functional Products” was successfully held from 25 to 29 May 2026, gathering students from all nine partner universities of the EUGLOH Alliance: the University of Paris-Saclay, France; Lund University, Sweden; the University of Szeged, Hungary; the University of Porto, Portugal; Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Germany; the University of Alcalá, Spain; UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, Norway; the University of Hamburg, Germany: and the University of Novi Sad, Serbia.

The aim of this activity was to stimulate and expand students’ interest in waste management and resource recovery. Through a combination of lectures and hands-on training, participants explored different sources of waste and innovative approaches to their utilization.

Namely, human activities inevitably generate waste, as everything we produce and consume eventually becomes part of waste streams. Effective waste management is therefore essential for promoting sustainability, reducing environmental pollution, conserving resources, and mitigating climate change.

Agro-industrial residues and by-products generated during the processing of agricultural raw materials (such as those from the brewing, sugar, and confectionery industries) represent low-cost and widely available resources throughout the year. Rather than being treated as waste, these materials offer significant potential for value-added applications. For this reason, a particular attention was devoted to the concept of the circular economy and the fine line between waste and by-products, emphasizing how rethinking waste can lead to sustainable solutions.

In addition to the academic programme, a guided visit to the Gallery of Matica Srpska was arranged for the students within the EUGLOH Cultural Corridors programme. Furthermore, the students of the University of Novi Sad who are members of the EUGLOH local student team additionally contributed to the overall positive experience of their fellow workshop participants through organization of social gatherings and leisure-time activities.