On July 28th 2024, Ernesto Alfaro-Moreno, the LEARN project’s coordinator from INL, participated as a speaker and panellist in the webinar “Clearing the air: The educational imperative for healthy indoor air quality in schools“, which reached over 145 registered users.
The session was co-organised by the EDIAQI project and the LEARN project, both part of the European IDEAL cluster on indoor air quality and health, and also counted on the participation of the SAMHE project from the UK.
After an introduction on the problem of indoor air quality at schools by Alex Borg, communication manager of EDIAQI, different presentations followed of the three projects invited:
- The SAMHE project, aiming to understand indoor air quality in UK schools, was presented by its coordinator Henry Burridge, professor at Imperial College London.
- The LEARN project, aiming to evaluate indoor air quality at schools and its impact on children’s health, was presented by its coordinator Ernesto Alfaro-Moreno, head of Nanosafety at INL.
- The EDIAQI project, aiming to study indoor air pollution in European cities, was presented by by its WP6 leader Jessica Fernández, professor at the University of Sevilla.
To end with, the three speakers participated in a panel discussion to find the most effective ways to measure indoor air quality in schools and assess its health and cognitive implications. Moreover, the panellists discussed current and proposed policies and strategies to improve indoor air quality in schools in Europe.
The LEARN project’s coordinator highlighted that, although the COVID-19 pandemic brought indoor air quality to the public discussion, research and policy still need to be promoted to improve indoor air quality, since it represents an important cause of death.
He also stated that children are particularly vulnerable to the damaging effects of poor air quality on health and cognition, and it is essential to listen to stakeholders from schools to understand their needs and find better solutions for them. Likewise, it is important to communicate the research to them in an accessible way.
The LEARN project is a Horizon Europe project meant to monitor and evaluate indoor air quality at schools around Europe and its impact on children’s health. Our main goal is to develop and deploy novel sensors that can detect possibly harmful air pollutants, as well as advanced biosensors and optimised air remediation strategies. Find out more about our EU-funded project!
