Summary
Course for PhD candidates interested in Soft Matter, inspired by the interdisciplinary field at the intersection of physics, chemistry, biology and nanotechnology.
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| Organised by | VLAG Graduate School, in co-operation with Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter |
| Date | 28 October 2026 until 31 May 2028 (7 sessions per year, once a month) |
| Course load | The study load of the full course is 1.5 ECTS credits (7 sessions) or 3.0 ECTS credits (14 sessions) |
| Venue | Wageningen University Campus |
Registration and attendance regulations
Participation is free of charge for PhD candidates of the Graduate Schools VLAG, EPS, PE&RC, WIMEK, WIAS and WASS.
Registration for the course is continuous. PhD candidates may register up to 14 days before the start of the next session. If registration is completed less than 14 days before a session, the candidate will be enrolled in the following session.
Registration will be made by filling the form found at this link: NEED THE LINK
The PhD candidate will have two years from the date of enrolment to complete the minimum requirements for ECT accreditation. During registration, the PhD candidate must select the topics to be followed in the next cycle, subject to the applicable conditions and absence regulations (see below). The PhD candidate should attend all registered sessions and submit all assignments within 30 days after each session for ECTS accreditation. Unjustified absence will be subject to the consequences mentioned below.
After registration, PhD candidates will receive a calendar invite with the location, time, and lecturer. PhD candidates are expected to keep the scheduled lecture dates in mind. Lecturers are not responsible for reminding the PhD candidates of upcoming lectures or notifying them of the scheduled lecture dates.
Target group
PhD candidates interested in Soft Matter, inspired by the interdisciplinary field at the intersection of physics, chemistry, biology, and nanotechnology.
Required knowledge
Knowledge based on standard courses such as Soft Matter (PCC20806), About Building Cells (PCC35303), Advanced Soft Matter (PCC41306), Research Methods Soft Matter (PCC31303), or From Molecule to Designer Material (PCC33808).
Learning objectives
By the end of the course, PhD candidates will be able to:
- Explain and integrate fundamental principles of polymers, soft matter, and biomolecular systems, including molecular interactions, self-assembly, phase separation, and material properties.
- Apply appropriate experimental, computational, and analytical techniques, including microscopy, atomic force microscopy, light scattering, rheology, microfluidics, high-speed imaging, and computational modeling, to investigate and characterize complex soft-matter and biomolecular systems.
- Analyze, interpret, and critically evaluate scientific data and models to establish relationships between molecular interactions, structure, processing, and macroscopic properties, while recognizing experimental limitations and sources of uncertainty.
Course design
The course will be conducted in interactive, in-person meetings (approximately 2-3 hours), including a presentation, discussions, and a problem-solving session. The PhD student will receive a mandatory post-lecture assignment (estimated time investment ~3-4 hours), which must be submitted within 30 days after the lecture on Brightspace.
Course topics follow a 2-year cycle: year 1 and year 3 offer the same content; year 2 and year 4 offer the same content. Thus, a student may join at any time for 2 years of content.
Lectures will take place at the Wageningen Campus, in either the Helix, Impulse, or Axis building, depending on room availability.
PhD students are encouraged to contact lecturers and suggest subtopics they wish to cover during the session, in line with the topic for that date.
The course material will vary for each session, following the lecturer’s organizational criteria. If the lecturer provides preparatory material, they will share it with PhD at least one week in advance so they can review it before class.
The course will be held in English.
Programme topics 2026-2028
Course meetings are scheduled for the last Wednesday of October, November, January, February, March, April, and May of each year at 14-17h.
Changes to the session weekday will be subject to consultation with the PhD candidates and lecturer at least 15 days before the session.
For more information on the topics, see the attached programme.
Dates in the coming academic years:
|
2026/2027 |
Lecturer |
Topic |
|
28/Oct/26 |
Thomas Kodger |
Practical Aspects of Rheology |
|
25/Nov/26 |
Francesco Simone Ruggeri |
Biomolecular self-assembly and aggregation |
|
27/Jan/27 |
Siddharth Deshpande |
Microfluidics practical applications |
|
24/Feb/27 |
Joice Kaschuk |
Differences in Processing, Properties, and General Characterization of Materials |
|
24/Mar/27 |
Renko de Vries |
Intermolecular forces |
|
28/Apr/27 |
Uddalok Sen |
Microscale transport phenomena in soft matter |
|
26/May/27 |
Jasper van der Gucht |
Polyelectrolytes and complexes |
|
| ||
|
Potential dates 2027/2028 |
| |
|
27/Oct/27 |
Francesco Simone Ruggeri |
Imaging analysis |
|
24/Nov/27 |
Joice Kaschuk |
Natural Polysaccharides Self-Assembling |
|
26/Jan/28 |
Renko de Vries |
Computational Modeling: coarse-grained |
|
23/Feb/28 |
Thomas Kodger |
Light scattering analysis |
|
29/Mar/28 |
Jasper van der Gucht |
Modeling in Phase Separation |
|
26/Apr/28 |
Uddalok Sen |
Hands-on single-particle tracking: from optical alignment to data analysis |
|
31/May/28 |
Siddharth Deshpande |
Building Synthetic Cells |
Study load and regulation on absences
The full course load is 1.5 ECTS credits for participation in SEVEN sessions, subject to approval of the mandatory assignment submitted within 30 days after the lecture. The ECTS will be credited ONLY if the PhD candidate participates in SEVEN sessions over the 2-year period, with NO REPETITION of the lecturer or topic. If the PhD candidate participates in the FOURTEEN sessions over the 2-year period, this PhD candidate will receive 3 ECTS.
In case of unjustified absence, the PhD candidate will be disenrolled from the course and will not receive the corresponding ECTS credits. The candidate will be required to retake the lectures. For planned personal absences, the justification should be submitted by email to the course coordinator, with the PhD daily supervisor cc'd, at least 14 days before the session that will be missed. In exceptional personal or medical circumstances, such as illness, childbirth, severe family circumstances, personal trauma, or sudden emergencies, the justification may be submitted by email to the course coordinator, with the PhD daily supervisor cc'd, at least one hour before the session.
PhD candidates who do not want to earn ECTS are welcome to attend any session upon registration/discussion with the course coordinator.
Assignments regulation
The PhD candidate will receive a post-session assignment that must be submitted in Brightspace within 30 days after the session. Delays in the submission of the assignment are not accepted except when they comply with the absence exceptions described below. The lecturer will grade the assignment as approved or not approved with feedback. PhD candidates will receive credit/attendance for the session in which their assignment is approved. If the assignment is not approved, the PhD candidate may resubmit it according to the lecturer's instructions and deadlines. PhD candidates who are absent from a session are not eligible to submit the corresponding assignment.
Contact information
For information about the course contents, please get in touch with the coordinator, Dr. Joice Kaschuk (joice.kaschuk@wur.nl)
For organisational matters, please contact Office PCC or VLAG.