International Scientific Symposium
The symposium was titled 'The Role of Universities and Research for Sustainable Regional Development' and it was held on 21-23 April 2024 at the Bialystok University of Technology (BUT), Poland. As a part of the Polish BUP Presidency, this event focused on BUP colleagues.
The symposium was devoted to the role universities play in the development of their regions and their responsibilities to their communities. The event aimed to exchange knowledge and practices between academic centers. This event was for those who wanted to meet like-minded colleagues to talk about the rapid changes currently happening in our region of the world and how to prepare our students for the future.
The discussions focused on the current challenges facing the Baltic Sea Region and how BUP participating universities can be models for our communities on how to adapt to a changing climate and build resilient communities.
The symposium was a place for active meetings of both experienced and young researchers, a partnership exchange of views and research results at the BUP forum. At the same time, there was an additional value of the event in Białystok, it allowed participants to broaden their networks of contacts in many areas through meetings with the Ambassadors of the European Climate Pact of Poland and Lithuania and participants of the 12th Erasmus Week at BUT.
At the symposium, there were representatives from six countries and 14 BUP participating universities. In total 21 participants came to Białystok to present in the plenary sessions, three participants presented remotely, and the works of 23 authors were presented in the poster sessions. The plenary sessions were received with great interest from the international and local academic community with a large student representation. Depending on the session, there were at times over 100 people participating.
Participants at the International Scientific Symposium. Photo: Dariusz Piekut
Evaluation of the event
The feedback after the event showed that the participants gained new insights about sustainability solutions at the university level, which they will try to apply in their own work. Some of the things that they liked best about the event were meeting many colleagues and having fruitful discussions regarding how other universities work with sustainability.
The participants noted that they will take with them new contacts as well as concrete ideas for further cooperation and research.
Some quotes from the evaluations:
"It was great in terms of organization, ideas exchange, and networking possibilities, with a perfect balance of scientific contributions and non-formal communication."
"I met so many interesting people with fresh ideas for the future development of universities."
"It was three wonderful days filled with meaningful reports, constructive discussions and interesting communication."
Organisers voice
"The motivation for organising this event was to bring The Baltic University Programme to Bialystok. With Poland being the host of the BUP presidency, we wanted to invite researchers, PhD students and administrators to our university to share our progress in implementing our strategy for sustainable development at the university level, and also receive some feedback about what can be improved.
All of our institutions are in different places in terms of the awareness of sustainable development goals and progress in achieving these goals on the scale of the university. we enjoyed meeting colleagues from partner universities, and hope we can continue to collaborate on other projects to bring more awareness about research and education on regional sustainable development issues.
Even though Bialystok does not lie on the coast, it lies within the drainage area of the Baltic Sea. Of the 80 million people living in this area, half are located in Poland, meaning Poles have a huge impact on the quality of the Baltic Sea environment. Many people at our university are not aware of the stresses the Baltic Sea is experiencing, and it was important to raise awareness about the need for cooperation between the countries surrounding the Baltic Sea, in order to come up with policies to improve the state of the Sea, with universities being the leaders on this issue."
Results from the event
The discussion on sustainable development conducted as part of the symposium was a natural continuation and at the same time a valuable complement to the activities that have been carried out at BUT for years (e.g. implementation of the "My Green University of Technology" strategy, organising international summer schools for environmental engineering students focusing on sustainable development, activities to raise the ecological awareness of PB employees and students, etc.). For this reason, the organisation of the symposium was particularly important for BUT and was held under the honorary patronage of the Rector of the Białystok University of Technology, prof. Marta Kosior-Kazberuk and the Ambassador of the European Climate Pact in Poland - Dorota Anna Krawczyk, prof. PB.
The symposium consisted of plenary, poster, and brainstorming sessions aimed at the widest possible exchange of research results, teaching methodologies and good practices among event participants. The conclusions from the SWOT analyses developed during the brainstorming session by the symposium participants will be taken into account in the process of implementing the "My Green University of Technology" strategy.
An important result of the conference was the individual expansion of scientific contacts among participants, but also the strengthening of the network of contacts between the administrative structures of our universities, with particular emphasis on international cooperation offices.
The great value of the symposium was the opportunity to exchange views, advice and opinions between researchers with established status, and research experience and young researchers in the world of science – our PhD students.
An additional result was the development of a network of contacts thanks to the exchange of scientific experiences, teaching and organizational practices of the participants of the BUP symposium with the participants of the 12th International Staff Week at BUT (23 guests representing 15 countries, including distant partners such as Guyana, Bolivia, Indonesia, Nigeria and Uzbekistan).
There was also opportunities for an exchange of views with the Ambassadors of the European Climate Pact from two countries: Poland and Lithuania, which served to expand contacts and influence of BUT in the area of activity of European and global institutions. This can provide an opportunity for a broader platform for the influence of education, dissemination and implementation of the principles of sustainable development in the Baltic Sea region and around the entire globe.
The visit to the laboratories of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences of BUT provided the opportunity to learn about the research offer of the university and establish further contacts and initiatives for joint research projects.
A great value of the symposium was the informal contacts established, which can only be achieved in the face-to-face format of the event, which, according to the participants' comments, should be continued in subsequent events. It should be mentioned that the achievement of this result was also influenced by additional points of the symposium program aimed at learning about the culture and history of Białystok and the traditions of the region, shared meals, and a meeting with the Mayor of Białystok.
The final result of the symposium will also be a book of abstracts (currently in preparation), which will be available via the Białystok University of Technology Publishing House website.
Participant evaluations
- The participants noted that their expectations before the event were high, rating it at 7.8/10.
- The event was given a rating of 9.4/10 by the participants.
- Communication with the event staff before the event was rated at 9.7/10 and during the event it was rated 9.9/10.
- The participants noted that the event was worthwhile in attending, giving an 8.3/10 rating.
Voices of participants
Nomeda Gudelienė - Participant from Mykolas Romeris University
I was very excited to learn about the International Scientific Symposium and it exceeded my expectations in terms of networking possibilities, exchange of scientific knowledge and best practices as well as the potential for future cooperation.
Intellectually challenging presentations and thought-provoking discussions as well as best practices from other Baltic Sea region universities enabled us to evaluate our university progress and learn from others. The symposium helped to build partnerships and friendships and develop interdisciplinary and international networks that might lead to joint projects, research, publications, or events in the future.
The network and partnerships with sustainability professionals, site visits and best practices from other Baltic Sea region universities have enhanced my understanding of the importance of inter-university and university-city municipality cooperation in developing sustainable communities.
Mariana Ruda - Participant from Lviv Polytechnic National University
My expectations for participation in the International Scientific Symposium were especially optimistic. Because I've heard many positive reviews about the BUP, but this is my first BUP event. I wanted to meet like-minded people and gain new insights into the topic of my research, particularly in the field of green recovery of Ukraine's economy in the context of the European Green Deal and sustainable development priorities.
I consider the informal communication and lively discussions about future joint projects to be the best part of the Symposium. In particular, I liked the participants' presentations and the poster session.
I managed to meet new interesting people, receive new ideas, discuss the challenges of the circular economy in the EU and Ukraine, and also the implementation of sustainable development goals in the activities of my university.
Annina Kainu - Participant from Åbo Akademi University
I was mostly expecting to learn about the research conducted at other BUP participating universities. And to meet with some people I prior to this only had met online.
The best and most useful part was meeting all the other participants, establishing new contacts, and planning new ways of collaborating with other BUP universities. Also learning from the research and experiences of others was very valuable. I appreciated greatly the friendly BUP atmosphere of cooperation and sharing of best practices.
In addition to the new contacts and inspiration from the work of other researchers, I gained knowledge of teaching methods that I am going to implement in my courses. I heard of sustainability practices of other BUP universities and some of them I will test myself and some suggest at my university. And hopefully, some of the discussions may lead to joint projects one day.
Images from the event
Photo: Dariusz Piekut
Dorota Gawryluk from Bialystok University of Technology, Chair of the Organising Committee, opened the event.
Photo: Dariusz Piekut
Inguss Vircavs from the University of Latvia gave a presentation titled 'Development challenges through the application of the competitive neutrality principle in Latvia'.
Photo: Dariusz Piekut
Lisa Wälitalo from Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden, held a presentation titled 'RESPONSE – an approach for a faster transition to sustainable development through regional networks'.
Photo: Dariusz Piekut
The event was, according to the participants, an opportunity to gain new contacts as well as to get concrete ideas for further cooperation and research.