The University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM) is presentially hosting the Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) at the Ciudad Real and Toledo campus and at the Almadén site. It is a new, short mobility activity included within the framework of the Erasmus + 2021-27 programme. This involves at least three European universities which take an innovative approach to the learning-teaching process.

Entitled,” Discovering the fascinating world of nanomaterials", the first BIP coordinated by the UCLM was conceived for master´s and doctorate students in the fields of physics, chemistry and materials at the universities of Jan Dlugosz and Silesia (Poland), Ferrara in Trieste and Genoa (Italy), Le Mans (France) and Uppsala (Sweden) as well as the local one.

The presential part of this Blended Intensive Programme, which was directed by professor Soñia Merino , was presided by online training sessions in which  pre-existing concepts of nanoscience and nanotechnology were reviewed. There was a special focus on preparing nanomaterials based on carbon and metallic nanoparticles. Also, the main characterisation techniques were reviewed to conclude with some applications for these nanomaterials in fields such as biomedicine and optoelectronics. 
In the presential sessions, the participants went through the different previously studied sections and may be in contact with nanomaterials and explore  how they go from nano to macro with the use of 3D materials, hydrogels. These sessions will be held at the Faculty of Sciences and Chemical Technologies, at the Regional Institute for Applied Scientific Research and at the Ciudad Real Faculty of Medicine. Moreover, it will include a visit to the Almadén site, where students will carry out practical work at the laboratories belonging to the Nanotechnology and Materials research group; and the Institute of Nanoscience, nanotechnology and Molecular Materials (INAMOL) on the Toledo Munitions Factory Campus.

UCLM Communication Office Ciudad Real, 4th of July 2022