The 5th Virtual Exchange session of the second iteration for students was carried out on 11th December 2025. In total, 155 participants attended the online exchange.
The guest speech ”Catalysing Change across Continents: How Global Sustainability Advocates Drive an Ecological Circular Economy” was given by Prof. Solomon Derese, University of Nairobi. Professor of Organic Chemistry, University of Nairobi. Prof. Derese is and Executive Secretary, Pan African Chemistry Network and has acted as Program Officer, Natural Products Research Network for Eastern and Central Africa (NAPRECA) – 2009 – 2014. His research interests lie in organic synthesis to create molecules with potential pharmaceutical uses, particularly against tropical diseases like malaria, and in natural products research. He has published over 70 research papers.
In his keynote speech, Prof. Derese shed light on green chemistry and the principles of the circular economy. His talk also highlighted how students can continue promoting sustainable practices as Global Sustainability Advocates after the UnaVEX virtual exchange.
Prof. Derese concluded his talk with an inspirational story about how everyone’s contribution matters in building a more sustainable world, as told by Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan environmental and political activist. Watch the video: I will be a humming bird
At the end of the UnaVEx virtual exchange, we heard from our students about the sustainability action group work they had been preparing in the previous weeks. The works, summarized on an interactive Miro board, showed great innovation, versatility, and dedication to advancing sustainability both locally and globally.
If you want to know more about the UnaVEx project, please visit our website or reach out to your local contacts here.
The next virtual exchange week takes place in spring 2026. We will host three moderator trainings prior to the exchange to have competent and committed moderators to guide the students’ sustainability work.
Schedule for the Moderators’ get-together Zoom meetings
- 1st get-together (2h) on Mon 9th Feb at 15-17 Helsinki time
- 2nd get-together (2h) on Wed 11th Feb at 15-17 Helsinki time
- 3rd get-together (2h) on Mon 2nd Mar at 15-17 Helsinki time
Schedule for the 3rd VE Week in spring 2026
- 05 Mar 1st VE day at 15-18 Helsinki time
- 12 Mar 2nd VE day at 15-18 Helsinki time
- 19 Mar 3rd VE day at 15-18 Helsinki time
- 24 Mar 4th VE day at 15-18 Helsinki time
- 26 Mar 5th VE day at 15-18 Helsinki time
The UnaVEx student call is open 15.Jan-28.Feb. 2026