Tallinn University projects at the EuroScience Open Forum
From July 13 to 16, the EuroScience open forum and a scientific exhibition took place in the city of Leiden in the Netherlands, where among others, the projects of Tallinn University were displayed at the Estonian Research Council exhibition booth. The researchers' cooperations with cosmetics companies and the therapeutic mud and peat mixture developed at Haapsalu College were introduced.
The EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) took place for the 10th time this year, this time in the city of Leiden in the Netherlands. The four-days conference program was full of presentations and discussions about new scientific results, bottlenecks in the academic career and their solutions, academic freedom and the role of scientists and science in society. In parallel with the conference, there was also a science fair where, among others, the Estonian Research Council was also present, introducing smart and sustainable research projects in Estonian universities.
Two larger projects from Tallinn University were selected for the exhibition area – the research of therapeutic mud and mud therapy at the Health Promotion Rehabilitation Competence Center of Haapsalu College and the development of natural cosmetics at the Institute of Natural and Health Sciences.
The Centre of Excellence of Health Promotion and Rehabilitation deals with valorization of curative mud mined in Estonia and searches for ways to reuse curative mud for more sustainable management. The center has developed a therapeutic mud mixture and a method of its preparation, which is patented. This mixture of mud and peat is mainly used for the prevention and rehabilitation of work-related overuse syndromes of the musculoskeletal system. The center has also developed a method to recycle curative mud by processing it into a powder.
Researchers from the School of Natural Sciences and Health offer companies assistance in developing cosmetic recipes. Many natural ingredients are used there. Among other things, new natural resources are valorized and the bioactivity of products is evaluated, which means that scientists help to test the effects of different ingredients and their use in the best ratio. The list of developed products is already long, among others can be found serum from nettle extract, cosmetics from red algae, detergent from horse chestnuts and lip balm from spruce resin.
The feedback from the fair visitors to the Tallinn University projects was very positive. The use of natural resources in everyday consumer goods and smart solutions such as the development of a powder soap recipe were praised. They were also interested in the therapeutic properties of therapeutic mud, and the reuse of curative mud in the form of powder was seen as an interesting solution.
EuroScience (the European Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology), brings together scientists from 75 countries. EuroScinece aims to represent scientists and the scientific community through public statements and messages to political institutions, policy makers, companies, and the public.
All project presented in Estonian Research Council booth at ESOF could be found HERE.