From November of 2019 to June of this year, we were very grateful for having Kevin Szkop on our team as the inaugural Higher Education Fellow. Kevin is a recent Ph.D. candidate in Chemistry at the University of Toronto, whose thesis was focused on novel applications of Green Chemistry towards catalysis and synthesis. During his time at Beyond Benign, Kevin worked with different Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) signers institutions around the world to analyze trends in feedback data, create case studies, and assess the success of the program. You can access the GCC 2019 Signer Report, created with the help of Kevin by clicking here!
Higher Education Fellowship at Beyond Benign, by Kevin Szkop
“The reason for wanting to work with Beyond Benign on the Green Chemistry Commitment was to critically analyze the program to see how we could increase participation and improve the signer experience. My experience with the Green Chemistry Initiative at the University of Toronto was instrumental in sparking my passion for Green Chemistry education and outreach. The GCI performed a department-wide audit of the Green Chemistry material offered in undergraduate courses. I wanted to expand these efforts to the greater chemistry community, and Beyond Benign was the perfect partnership to do so. As part of my time as the Higher Education Fellow, I connected with key leaders in Green Chemistry education and got an opportunity to learn how they were able to motivate their students and promote sustainable science in their communities. It was fascinating to see how different institutions all over the world engaged their local communities in public demonstrations, created innovative curriculum material for the delivery of modern Green Chemistry tenants, and imparted important skills to their students.
Out of my time with Beyond Benign, I gained a deeper appreciation of Green Chemistry education and all the different ways it can be communicated. I look forward to the continued growth of the Green Chemistry Commitment program and the success of all signing institutions!”
