Key aspects of green technological transformation were discussed at an international workshop
On 6-7 May, the Uzhhorod National University hosted a workshop on ‘Characteristics of Green Technological Transformation in line with the European Green Deal’ as part of the Erasmus+ project ‘Gender, Digitalisation, Sustainability: Securing a Sustainable Future for All in Europe’. The international project is implemented jointly with partners from the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Bucharest (Romania), the Polytechnic University of Bucharest (Romania), the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spain), and the University of Porto (Portugal) and aims to develop training courses and programmes, case studies and focus seminars, create chatbots, introduce artificial intelligence and gamification methods as self-education tools, and organise training sessions based on the structural elements of the European Green Deal, with a focus on the circular bioeconomy.
The workshop began with welcoming remarks from the organising committee, including the project's working group, a team of experts from the Faculty of Information Technology. Its representatives are Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Oksana Mulesa, Dean of the Faculty, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Ihor Povkhan, and Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor Olena Melnyk.Among the invited guests, the first to speak was the Vice-Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Work, Professor Myroslava Lendiel.‘The transition to the green course is one of the activities of the European Union, its main priority. Reducing the harmful effects on the climate is a challenge for modern countries, so the European Commission pays attention to projects aimed at this. It is great that the community of scientists at our university combines this with another EU priority - digitalisation. This project involves representatives of the Faculty of Information Technology who work closely with the business of our region, government agencies, and an extremely powerful team of foreign partners,’ the Vice-Rector said. Myroslava Oleksandrivna is convinced that the combination of the partners' experience and UzhNU's desire to join new trends will lead to good results. This workshop, organised by our university, will be the first brick for further steps towards modernising the educational process, taking into account the challenges of the EU and modern society.
The Head of the International Relations Department, Associate Professor Oksana Svezhentseva, in her welcoming speech, emphasised the positive dynamics of international cooperation and the prospects for project activities of the Faculty of Information Technology. Today, the project ‘Gender, Digitalisation, Sustainability: Ensuring a Sustainable Future for All in Europe’ is one of six international projects of UzhNU implemented under the Erasmus+ programme and aimed at developing the potential of higher education. ‘The international partnership contributes to the improvement of curricula, the introduction of new relevant courses, and the involvement of innovative European practices,’ said Oksana Svezhentseva.
The Dean of the Faculty of Information Technologies, Professor Ihor Povkhan emphasised: ‘Our faculty provides almost 60% of the labour market for IT specialists in Zakarpattia region. We work fruitfully and effectively with colleagues from other countries: Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany, we have effective double degree programmes with Slovak and Polish colleagues. We are happy to participate in this international project, as the intersection of ecology and information technology is an extremely promising area. It is also interesting that many colleagues from other Ukrainian universities will speak during the workshop, which will allow us to share ideas and experiences, to see what we can do together.’ Professor Oksana Mulesa, as the head of the working group, identified the main priorities of the international project and expressed her gratitude and admiration for the fact that colleagues, representatives of leading higher education institutions from all over Ukraine and abroad, joined the workshop.
‘I am confident that our workshop will become the foundation for establishing partnerships, and we will be able to jointly submit and implement new projects.’ The event was moderated by Associate Professor Olena Melnyk. The workshop was held in a mixed format, in English, so researchers from universities from different parts of Ukraine and other countries - Lviv Polytechnic National University, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, National Technical University of Dnipro Polytechnic, Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics, Cherkasy State Technological University, Zhytomyr Polytechnic State University, Mukachevo State University, and others - had the opportunity to present their work online.
The thematic areas of the workshop included strategies for green technological transformation, research and innovation in green technologies, environmental education and awareness, green technologies in the IT industry, and software development for green technologies.
Each of these areas was represented by a variety of presentations, including environmental education programmes in Ireland, the involvement of local activists in environmental campaigns, as well as environmental issues in the media and social media in Ukraine and Ukrainian initiatives paving the way for a greener future.
Other ideas covered included modernising civilian heating and industrial cooling systems, optimising energy efficiency in information technology, innovative solutions in urban landscape planning to adapt to climate change, and weather forecasting technologies - just to name a few of the many topics discussed during thThe project ‘Gender, Digitalisation, Sustainability: Securing a Sustainable Future for All in Europe’ has recently been launched and will run until 2026, so there are many more such interesting, informative events to come on the more relevant topics of the European Green Deal and digitalisation than ever before.
Oleksandra Svezhentseva
first-year student majoring in Journalism and specialising in Information Systems and Technologies workshop
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