In April and May, the Swedish Life Cycle Center and our university partners arranged the third edition of the PhD course, “Advances in Life Cycle Assessment.” This time, the course was not just for PhD students but also ran as a parallel program for life cycle professionals. The outcome? A diverse group of 25 PhD students and five professionals benefited from a three-week in-depth LCA course, with sessions in Gothenburg, online, and Uppsala.

Networking was a highlight of the course as participants mingled with both experienced LCA researchers and their peers, forming connections and informal networks. Partner organizations, including Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Chalmers University of Technology, IVL and SKF Group, were well-represented. Participants also came from institutions like Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Dalarna University and LUT University.

Course leaders were Tomas Ekvall, Adjunct Professor at the Division of Environmental Systems Analysis, Chalmers and Niclas Ericsson, Researcher at the Division of Agricultural Engineering, SLU. Course teachers included senior LCA researchers and lecturers, such as Anne-Marie Tillman, Michael Hauschild, Serenella Sala, Henrikke Baumann, Mathias Janssen, Valentina Bisinella, Paola Federica Albizzati, Bengt Steen, Francesca Verones, Ulrika Palme, Martin Futter, Dilip Khatiwada, and Elisabeth Ekener.

The course received an impressive average rating of 4.4 out of 5 from participants in the course evaluation. Notably, the PhD students highly appreciated the presentations delivered by their peers regarding their individual research projects.

We had the opportunity to speak with Evelina Nyqvist, one of the course participants, to gain insights into her experience with the course. Here’s what she had to say:

How do you use LCA in your PhD studies?

I do research on LCA methods and work on a project where I will work with prospective LCA on Carbon Capture and Utilization. My studies are within Environmental Systems Analysis, and right now I am focusing on the method and the use of LCA.

What do you think about the course in general?

It was good! The course gave perspectives on different ongoing developments in LCA, and that was interesting and useful to stay up to date on different areas within LCA research. I also liked the activity of presenting my own research in a poster and getting to know the other participants through their poster presentations. Discussions among participants and teachers contributed to a good environment in the course.

Now, some time after the course, what’s your biggest takeaway?

I think one big take away from the course was to build my network through connections to other PhD students working with LCA. In this “small” community, I have met participants from the course again at other events (conferences, other courses).

In summary, the third “Advances in Life Cycle Assessment” PhD course offered participants a valuable learning experience, meaningful connections, and up-to-date insights into the dynamic world of LCA research.