The facilities of the Institute of Ceramic Technology (ITC) hosted a meeting to formally establish the Technical Committee of the Joint GEA Environmental Engineering Research Laboratory. The committee is composed of the Vice-Rector for Innovation, Knowledge Transfer and Science Outreach, David Cabedo; the Director General of AICE, Yolanda Reig; the scientific and technical coordinator on behalf of the UJI, Eliseo Monfort; and the scientific and technical coordinator on behalf of AICE, Irina Celades.
In October 2025, the Universitat Jaume I and the Association for the Research of Ceramic Industries (AICE) signed an addendum to their existing collaboration agreement to create the joint research laboratory GEA – Environmental Engineering Group. Its main aim is to promote joint research and innovation activities within the laboratory’s areas of work, fostering knowledge transfer and exchange in environmental engineering.
During the meeting, ongoing actions initiated in 2025 were reviewed and future activities for 2026 were outlined. These include the launch of an ambitious European project scheduled for May, the preparation of an industrial PhD planned for 2027, and the development of several student research projects, including a Bachelor’s Thesis in Chemical Engineering and two Master’s Theses in Energy Efficiency and Sustainability, carried out in collaboration with AICE researchers.
The partners also plan to jointly submit projects to competitive public funding calls across different programmes.
The Joint GEA Research Laboratory and the GAIA Research Group, led by UJI professor Eliseo Monfort and involving AICE researchers, represent two strong mechanisms for collaboration with companies in the region. In addition to fostering innovation, both structures play a key role in training and integrating new PhD graduates into the industrial sector, ultimately benefiting industry, academia and society as a whole.