On Friday, September 5, we said farewell to Erasmus+ student Gheorghe-Adrian Boricean, who completed a four-week practical training at the Faculty of Environmental Protection (FVO) as part of the international projects PLASTIX (Interreg Europe), Edu4PlasticCircular, and GreenGate 2.
Gheorghe, an undergraduate student at the Transilvania University of Brașov (Faculty of Product Design and Environment), joined us from August 11 to September 5, focusing on monitoring, detection, and analysis of microplastics in the environment.
Under the mentorship of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Anja Bubik and Master’s student Aljoša Krajnc, he participated in laboratory and field research with a special focus on:
- reviewing and improving sampling methods for sediments,
- testing methods for sampling in water and sediments,
- regular monitoring and analysis of microplastics in the Paka River,
- preparing a plan for the transfer of sampling protocols to Romania.
During his internship, he gained valuable experience in the use of advanced analytical techniques such as FTIR spectroscopy and microscopy, and developed skills for independent planning and conducting of environmental monitoring.
Part of his practical training will now continue in his home country, where he will compare the results with those obtained at FVO.
We concluded his Erasmus+ mobility with a presentation of his results and a small farewell gathering – accompanied by various types of traditional Slovenian potica.
We thank Gheorghe for his contribution and wish him much success in his future studies and research!
