--- title: "LIPOR University prepares future professionals for sustainability in Porto; Three-morning program in 2026 edition." sdDatePublished: "2026-09-01T12:26:00Z" source: "https://education-for-climate.ec.europa.eu/education-for-climate-day-2026-group/topic/lipor-university-preparing-future-professionals" topics: - name: "education" identifier: "medtop:05000000" - name: "environment" identifier: "medtop:06000000" - name: "economy, business and finance" identifier: "medtop:04000000" - name: "science and technology" identifier: "medtop:13000000" - name: "labour" identifier: "medtop:09000000" locations: - "Porto" - "Maia" - "Portugal" --- LIPOR University prepares future professionals for sustainability in Porto; Three-morning program in 2026 edition. LIPOR University: Preparing Future Professionals for Sustainability LIPOR is an intermunicipal organization that works in ​​management and valorization of urban solid waste in the Porto Metropolitan Area, Portugal. Over the years, its work has progressively expanded to a more comprehensive approach to environmental sustainability, circular economy, innovation, and community engagement. Education and training are important parts of this mission. Through the LIPOR Academy, the organization develops learning and training initiatives that share its knowledge and experience with different audiences and contribute to building skills for a more sustainable future. How can education prepare young people to contribute to the green transition, regardless of their academic background? Since 2015, the LIPOR Academy has been developing LIPOR University, a non-formal learning program for final-year undergraduate students, recent graduates, and young professionals. The program began with a strong focus on environmental and waste management. Over the years, the program has evolved, keeping pace with the sustainability challenges facing society and the constantly changing needs of young people entering the job market. Lipor University 2025, House of Associations, Porto Today, LIPOR University connects sustainability with circular economy, innovation, entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, and skills for the future. The program combines LIPOR's technical and institutional knowledge with the experience of external professionals, organizations, entrepreneurs, and projects. Throughout its editions, participants have engaged in different forms of learning, including training sessions, technical visits, practical activities, group work, project development, and networking. Lipor University 2022, LIPOR Baguim do Monte In the early editions, technical visits included LIPOR's environmental infrastructure and selective waste collection operations in Maia, in collaboration with Maiambiente. Over time, we realized that a more focused approach could create more space for meaningful learning and interaction. The program has therefore evolved from a one-week format that combined training, visits, and other activities to a more focused program, with three mornings dedicated to learning and networking. One of the main lessons of this evolution is that sustainability cannot be restricted to professionals in the environmental field. The green transition will require contributions from people working in diverse fields. Therefore, LIPOR University has progressively expanded its target audience beyond environmental professionals and has begun to link sustainability to cross-cutting skills such as entrepreneurship, innovation, adaptability and, more recently, artificial intelligence and digital transformation. The goal is to help participants understand sustainability not only as a topic to be studied, but as a dimension of their future personal and professional choices. Examples of materials produced for the initiative Connecting people, knowledge and generations LIPOR University creates a learning environment where young people meet experienced professionals, companies, entrepreneurs and organizations. LIPOR trainers share institutional and technical knowledge, while external speakers bring different experiences, case studies and different professional perspectives. Banner used to promote the 2023 edition Partnerships with organizations such as the Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth and the Portuguese Association of Business Intelligence also help connect the program to broader networks of young people and professionals. This creates opportunities for dialogue between different generations and professional communities, helping to make sustainability more tangible and relevant to participants. The 2026 edition, scheduled for November, will continue this evolution through a focused three-morning program. The program will connect sustainability with human relations, digital transformation, future skills, and the transition from academic life to the job market. We don't just need sustainability professionals. We need future professionals prepared for sustainability. Save the date - future edition 2026 LIPOR University: Preparing Future Professionals for Sustainability 2.1 | Education for Climate priority develop green skills and competences 2.4 | GreenComp: sustainability competence focus 3.1 Futures literacy (Envisioning Sustainable Futures) 2.6 | related EU initiative Be the first one to comment Total amount of comments 0 comments Log in Sign in with the EU Login More about the EU Login Sign in with the EU Login More about the EU Login