Cleantech Symposium

Can Tech Save the World? 

Swiss and Georgia Solutions Through Controlled Environment Agriculture and Sustainable Water Management

Cleantech Symposium and Student Poster Contest at the University of Georgia

Humanity's annual consumption of resources currently far exceeds the planet's capacity to regenerate itself sustainably. To preserve the environment for generations to come and to address the challenge of global food security, it is vital that we shift to cleaner technologies. While efforts in various countries are underway, global collaboration on cleantech innovation is critical to achieving environmental objectives such as water conservation, sustainable agricultural practices, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The ever-growing environmental protection challenges can only be met if the international community works together and coordinates its efforts.

With the aim of creating a dialogue and accelerating the sharing of solutions around major environmental challenges across the Atlantic, the Consulate General of Switzerland in Atlanta, the Swiss Business Hub in Atlanta, the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the Office of Sustainability at the University of Georgia are partnering to host the 2nd annual Cleantech Symposium. Focused on technologies related to controlled environment agriculture (CEA), urban agriculture and sustainable water management, the symposium will showcase innovative cleantech solutions from Switzerland and Georgia to make our societies resolutely more sustainable. For Switzerland, the symposium presents a unique opportunity to demonstrate the vibrancy of its sustainability industry. UGA looks forward to hosting this event as a way to engage with a bustling, international sustainability industry, displaying its own research and outreach activities in the area of clean technologies through a poster competition, and exposing faculty and students to fresh ideas and new possibilities. The Cleantech Symposium is organized with support from the Georgia Center of Innovation.

On April 19, join entrepreneurs and scientists from both Switzerland and the state of Georgia to gain exclusive insights on clean technologies that can effectively address today's challenges! 

Event Details

Date: Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Location: UGA Delta Innovation District, 210 Spring St., Athens, GA

The symposium will be held in person at the Spring Street Building in the UGA Delta Innovation District beginning at noon on April 19. It focuses on two key areas of sustainability research and development:

• Water management and water conservation
• Urban agriculture and controlled environment agriculture

Registration info: The event is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required. Faculty, staff, students, postdocs, entrepreneurs and friends of UGA with an interest in sustainability research and development are especially invited to attend.

Register today

Schedule

*Attendees will have the opportunity to meet individually with the entrepreneurs to learn about their startup journey and education and tips for the next generation of business leaders.

Student Poster Contest

In conjunction with the Cleantech Symposium, UGA is organizing a student poster display for both graduate and undergraduate students and a contest to showcase student research pertaining to the two main focus areas of the conference.

The student poster display and contest is open to any UGA undergraduate and graduate student whose research topic is related to water management and conservation or urban agriculture and controlled environment agriculture.

Cash prizes ($300, $200 and $100 for first, second and third place, respectively) will be awarded separately for the best undergraduate and graduate student posters, as judged by a panel of UGA faculty members and industry delegates from Switzerland and Georgia.

Student Poster Contest Details

Who: UGA undergraduate and graduate students

Topics:  Water Management and Conservation

               Urban agriculture and controlled environment agriculture

Registration: Students who wish to participate in the poster display and contest must register by April 9. On the registration page, make sure to check the box for “Poster Competition Participant.” This will allow you to enter the title of your poster and a 250-word abstract.

Register for the poster contest

You will be informed about the acceptance of your abstract submission by April 10. More information about poster format and judging criteria is available here.

Location and date: The poster session will be held in the Spring Street Building at the UGA Delta Innovation District on April 19, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. Students are expected to stand by their posters during that time to discuss their research with interested attendees and answer questions posed by the poster judges.

Please contact Harald Scherm (scherm@uga.edu) or Rhuanito Ferrarezi (ferrarezi@uga.edu) with questions.